Assassins
by rika195
Summary: Put all the digidestined together in one place, give them water guns and a card with someone's name on it, and what do you get? ULTIMATE ASSASSINS, DIGIMON STYLE! Seriously, you wont want to miss this action for anything! [contest on this chapter]
1. Chapter 1

WOOT! NEW STORY!

I know, I am coming out with too many new stories, and not finishing my old ones. I'm sorry.

BUT THIS ONE IS SO FREAKIN AWESOME IT'S GOING TO KILL ME!!!!

HAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay. Chill time.

Sorry bout that. I'm a little….psyched. Cause I'm playing an awesome game tonight at midnight that's going to last 24 hrs. It's called……

**Assassins------chapter 1**

**Disclaimer**: I do not own the game "Apples to Apples." I do not own the game "Assassins." Nor do I own "Digimon" or anything related to it. I don't even own the idea for this story. It was my sister's idea. BUT….she told me to write it. BWA HA HA HA HA!!!!!! WATCH OUT PEOPLES!!!!!

(------)

**Prologue**

"_Are you sure this is a good idea?" Izzy asked. He stared at Tai over the top of his laptop, an unsure expression on his face. "Cause I don't."_

_Tai, still rubbing his hands together gleefully, nodded. He was still cackling, and had been doing it for the past several minutes. It was getting annoying. "Come Izzy! Quit dawdling! Send that email that I wrote!"_

_Izzy sighed, shaking his head. "You are definitely abusing the information that I have just given you," he scolded. "You don't even know if they'll want to play."_

"_They will," Tai insisted. He stopped rubbing his hands together and placed them behind his head casually. "They're digidestined. And not just any digidestined, they're the digidestined who went to the digital world for longer than a day. They'll play. And if they don't, I'll get a hair-cut."_

"_I'll hold you to that," Izzy snapped, resigned to typing up the email. He shot Tai a warning glare._

_Tai laughed, patting his friend on the back. "Worry not, my computer-genius-friend. You can be the one to pick the haircut."_

"_I'll hold you to that too," Izzy mumbled. He took a deep breath, hesitated, then sent the email. Who knew what the outcome would be?_

(------)

**Location: Takuya Kanbara's house, in the living room.**

**Present: All 6 Frontier Digidestined.**

**Age: JP-17, Tommy-11, The rest-16.**

"Man, this sucks!" JP tossed his red card into the middle of the floor. "I hate this game!"

"Chill out Jeep," Takuya grinned. "I'm the judge this time. Who knows? Maybe this time I might like your card!"

"You always happen to choose Kouji's cards," JP sulked. "He has six green cards, Zoe has three, you have five, Tommy has two, and Kouichi has four. Me? I have ZERO."

"It's just 'Apples to Apples,' JP," Kouichi smiled, shaking his head. "It's a board game."

"More like a card game," Takuya corrected. He glanced at the pile. "Everyone put them down yet?" He scooped them up into his hand, reading them out. "Okay let's see….The word was: 'Unscrupulous.' We've got 'The CIA', 'Having a Baby'….WHAT? who put THAT in there?" Takuya rolled his eyes. "…Then we've got 'Helen Keller', 'Witch Hunts', and 'Blue Whales'." He blinked at looked up at everyone. "This is the worst batch yet!"

"Just choose already," Kouji snapped, sounding bored. There was a slight gleam in his eyes that showed he was not actually bored, just pretending be so. He was always doing that.

"I will!" Takuya made a show of trying to decide, then picked up the 'Helen Keller' card. "This one just…it has to win, no matter what," he shrugged. "I can't help it."

"I don't believe it!" JP threw his cards down at his feet as Kouji grinned, did his martial-arts punching-victory-move, and grabbed the green card. "You ARE unscrupulous, Kouji!"

"I can't help it that I've got better cards than you," Kouji shrugged playfully. "Besides, Helen Keller is the trump card. She has to win, no matter what. It's an unspoken law."

JP sighed, rolling his eyes. "Whatever," he snapped.

"Man, you're a sore loser," Tommy commented, grinning. "It's just a game! Besides, we're playing to ten, so you can still catch up!"

"Yeah, and…." Zoe stopped talking abruptly, a puzzled expression crossing her face. Everyone turned to stare at her. "Takuya, did your computer just say something?"

Takuya blinked. "What?" He and the rest of the digidestined turned to stare at the computer in the corner, either out of curiosity or boredom, and listened. Sure enough, it spoke again.

"Message. For. Digi. Destined." The sound came from the computer in halting words, and was followed by a large beep. Then there was silence, which was instantly broken by the six of them rushing at the computer as fast as they could. 'Apples to Apples' was instantly forgotten.

"What does it say?" Zoe asked, grabbing a hold of Takuya's shoulders as he pushed Kouji out of the chair and seated himself in front of the computer. "Hurry up and open it! What if it's…" her voice trailed off. "My gosh….do you know what this means? After six years, we are finally…"

"Shut up!" Kouji snapped, glaring at Takuya. He leaned over Takuya's shoulder, he and everyone else, as he opened the email. And for a moment, there was complete silence while they all read it.

"_Dear Digidestined. We need you. Not for anything as serious as saving the world, though I'm sure that would come easily to you know since your experience four years ago, but we still need you. _

"_Perhaps you weren't aware, but there have been three other groups of unique digidestined like yourselves who have gone to the digital world and saved the day, so to speak, even though there have been hundreds of other kids who could qualify as "digidestined" all over the world. But we don't need them. We need YOU._

"_What for? If it's not serious, then why are we bothering you? Well, I'll tell you. It's a game. Not your ordinary kind of game, mind you. This is a game in awesome digital style! It's life and death! Well, not literally, but it's worth it. Not to mention it's at the digital world. _

"_And if I know my digidestined correctly, you'd give anything to go back to the digital world, wouldn't you? So would we. And that's why we're doing this. _

"_Still not interested? I'll give you another piece of information. This game is a game of total skill and annihilation. Only the best will survive! _

"_Meet us at the Shibuya Train Station on Saturday, in front of the red sign. We're waiting for you! I hope you don't miss out._

"_Signed, Taichi Kamiya, fellow digidestined."_

The silence lasted until everyone had finished reading, and perhaps even less than that. Then everyone began talking.

"Can we trust this Taichi person?" JP asked, frowning instantly. "It sounds like a ploy to get us into a trap or something!"

"Hey, I thought the suspicious remarks were my lines," Kouji commented, raising an eyebrow with a smirk. He chuckled. "But in this case, I think I want to go."

"What? You can't be serious!" Zoe glared at him. "JP is right! This seems too dangerous!"

"Guys, what about the messages we received the first time we went to the digital world," Takuya scolded, turning and rolling his eyes. "They were MUCH less informative, and they could have easily been from someone who was trying to kidnap us. This smells like truth, and I'm with Kouji."

"You're always agreeing with Kouji!" JP yelled.

Tommy raised his eyebrows. "No he's not," he said slowly, noticing that JP wasn't listening to him anyway.

"It's always 'Kouji says this' and 'Kouji's right' and 'Kouji that.' It's like you think he's perfect or something!"

"I _am _perfect," Kouji teased, a mock-serious expression on his face.

"JP…" Takuya sighed and shook his head. "Kouji and I happen to agree a few times, usually because we tend to have the same thought process." he ignored Kouji's outcry otherwise. "But we disagree more than we agree, due to different interests. So I don't see what your big deal is. Do you _want _me to agree with _you _more than I already do?"

JP crossed his arms. "Whatever," he mumbled, not answering Takuya's question. "You two just keep scheming things. Like that stupid game we were playing. Heck, like EVERY stupid game we play! You two always pair up, and then you win! Apples to Apples, Laser Tag, Mafia, Compatability, you name it!"

Zoe sighed and shook her head. "This conversation is getting pointless. Are we going to this game at the digital world or not?"

"I am," Tommy laughed. "And if you guys aren't, you're stupider than I thought!"

"Hey," Takuya punched him in the shoulder. "You KNOW I'm there, man!"

"I already said I was going," Kouji huffed. He crossed his arms and rolled his eyes, seemingly irked by some of JP's statements.

"I…" Kouichi glanced at JP. "I'm hesitant, though I do admit I want to go. If JP votes to stay, I'll stay too." He ignored Kouji's glare easily.

JP seemed to be slightly comforted by Kouichi's statement, and brightened considerably. "Well…." He glanced at Zoe. "If you say you're going too, then we're outnumbered, and I might as well go anyway just to keep you safe."

Zoe sighed, shaking her head with a smile. "You boys are all so weird," she stated. Then she held her breath. "I…._want_ to go…"

"Okay we're going." Kouji walked back to the center of the living room and seated himself back on the floor. "Who's turn is it to judge?"

"Oh mine!" Tommy rushed to join, soon followed by Takuya.

Kouichi turned to Zoe and JP. "You know we don't have to," he said calmly. "But you have to admit it is appealing."

Zoe nodded, still looking hesitant. She jumped when JP took her hand.

"Don't worry, I'll protect you," he grinned a cheesy grin. "Not that you'll need it, I wager."

Zoe offered him a sweet smile. "Thanks," she said. She walked back to the game. "But everyone is right. I think we should go."

JP sighed, nodded, and then sat down again. Well….perhaps it was an iffy situation. But if Zoe went, he went. It was as simple as that.

(------)

**Location: Rika's House.**

**Present: Just Rika.**

**Age: 16.**

Rika drummed her fingers on the table with one hand, her other hand shuffling through her old collection of cards. It seemed like such a long time ago that she had been a Tamer. She had been so angry when that was ripped from her, until she had been old enough to understand. Having Renamon here in the real world was only inviting more disaster. For the sake of everyone, they had to be separate. She understood that now, but she still missed Renamon. She missed everything about being a Tamer, and the cards were the only thing she had left.

"I miss you," she sighed, closing her eyes. "I would do anything to see you again."

The sound of an urgent email beeped from her computer, and she opened her eyes in bored curiosity, wondering who it was from.

"Message. For. Digi. Destined." The sound coming from the speakers was robotic and halting, but it was enough to set her blood on fire. A split-second later found her in front of the screen, opening the email as fast as she could.

And her eyes only got wider from there.

(------)

**Location: Matt's Place.**

**Present: Matt, TK, and Davis.**

**Age: Matt19, TK and Davis16.**

"A whata-whata?" Davis asked, throwing himself on the one sofa in Matt's apartment. He was looking up at TK from where he had thrown himself, his hands casually behind his head. TK stood above him, leaning over the couch, and Matt was still down the hall in his room. He probably didn't even know that Davis had invited himself over.

"Tai is planning a huge get-together, or something like that," TK repeated, shrugging. "It seems he's invited two other groups of digidestined to meet us at the Train Station, so we can all go to the digital world and play some kind of game."

"A game? Is Tai okay?" Davis smirked. "I wonder why he wants to do that!"

"Well, ever since Izzy told us about there only being four groups of unique digidestined who went to the digital world to save it, Tai's been saying that we all need to meet each other and become friends. He insists that we should be united. And besides, all of the digidestined happen to live in Japan. I think this is his big scheme."

"Yep. Sounds like it."

"What is that doing in my house?"

Davis turned his head and caught a glimpse of Matt glaring at him. "Oh hi, Matt," he stated, smiling. "I came to visit TK."

"Yeah well I didn't invite you. So go." Matt walked over to the couch, looking somewhat grumpy. "And get off my couch!"

Davis complied, hopping out and joining TK on the other side. Matt took this opportunity to collapse on the sofa and switch on the TV, completely ignoring the other two behind him.

"What's his deal?" Davis asked, smirking.

TK gave him a look that said 'don't push it,' and walked into the kitchen. Davis followed. "He's had a rough day at work. And he doesn't want me to talk about it."

"Especially not with me," Davis grinned. "What, he afraid of me or something?"

"If you can call 'despising' fear, then probably." TK rolled his eyes. "I don't know how you do it, but you manage to get on his nerves without even trying. What happened between you two? What did you do to make him hate you so much?"

"Nothing." Davis' face looked too innocent. "Nothing serious anyway."

"No seriously. Tell me."

Davis chuckled, leaning against the counter. "Oh, I just took a few pictures of him during some embarrassing moments, then gave them to Mimi, who then put them on her web page, and then…"

"That's okay, I don't want to hear anymore." TK sighed, shaking his head. Then he chuckled. "If you keep this up, he really _will _hate you!"

"Maybe. But I doubt it. He's a good guy."

"And his good opinion, once lost, is lost forever. Almost." TK shrugged. "So….what do you think about the whole game thing?"

"Personally, it depends on what game." Davis stared thoughtfully at the ceiling. "Something that involves moving around, skills, and sneaking. Like Capture the flag, or Mafia, or something cool like that. Though I don't know about playing with kids I don't know…"

"They're our age. And the game is much cooler than that. I'd say even you would approve."

Davis raised an eyebrow, thoroughly intrigued. "Really?" he asked, curiosity in his voice. "And what game is this?"

TK smirked, leaning against the counter with a confident expression. "Why, Assassins," he stated simply.

The gleam in Davis' eyes would have made Matt run for cover.

(------)

And that's where the first chapter ends, and the craziness begins! Interested? REVIEW!

I'm sorry it was so sloppily thrown together. You can bet your silver dollar it's going to get WAY better from here, especially in terms of the writing part. Man, I was so psyched to get this up! Woo! I feel the adrenaline flowing! Seriously, Assassins can do this to you do.

If you've never played Assassins, it rocks. And it's like, ultimate laser tag with water guns to the limit, but even scarier, cause you don't know who's out to get you. But don't worry, I'll explain all that next time.

This story was inspired by my university, where I am currently playing Assassins with mine and two other dorms. I haven't been assassinated yet. And I sure as heck don't know how I'm going to get my target to get out in the open! He's got a BUSY schedule!

Whoops, shouldn't have said he's a guy….Now you know too much. Don't be telling anyone! I want to survive!

And also this story was inspired by my sister Tshk, who helps me write "If Wishes Were Fishes." She rocks.

This story is dedicated to…um….to….

To people who play Assassins everywhere. Bring this game into your life! You've never tasted life until you've played it!

Okay I'll shut up now.

Thanks! And Review!

—rika195


	2. Chapter 2

**_THANK YOU to my anonymous reviewer "someone" for pointing out that I forgot to add Sora! I don't know how I could have forgotten someone so important! Sheesh! You rock so much! I will fix that right now!_**

* * *

Sup People? Yeah. This is the second chapter of my new and awesome story "Assassins." I am so excited! But that's probably cause my dorm was playing the game, and it was intense. I got assassinated though. That was a really cool story too. I should make it part of this story! Somehow. 

Thank you **TrialAndError1192812**, **Tshk**, **Kouzumi93**, **CrestOfHealing**, and **black peeches** for your kind reviews! You guys are so amazing! I can never thank you enough! I hope this story gets you as hyper and excited as it makes me, and I hope that you will be so inspired that you will spread this awesome game to all your friends and Youth Groups and Schools and what not. Cause it rocks! So I'll stop blabbing now and get on with the story. Please enjoy it!

**Assassins**---------------Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the game "Assassins", or anything to do with Digimon. I do not even own the idea for this story. But I was practically ordered to write it, so here it is!

(------)

**Saturday, Shibuya Train Station**

Tai leaned against the wall casually, watching the digidestined talk among themselves. As of yet, only his and Davis' groups had arrived, and Izzy kept glaring at him as if to remind him of a certain hair cut that he was destined to get. Tai snickered to himself, shaking his head at Izzy. _They'll come, _he thought, smirking. _With the email that I wrote, there's no way they're missing out. Believe me, they may be 16 years old, but they're still digidestined. You can't save the digital world without missing it. They'll be here._

Izzy sighed, rolling his eyes dramatically. "Tai, this is stupid," he insisted quietly. He walked over to stand next to his bushy-haired friend. "They don't know us, and they are probably smart enough to think that the email is from a freak or something. They wont come!"

"Just relax, Izzy." Tai patted his genius friend on the shoulder. "They're digidestined. If that email doesn't get them here, then I don't know what will."

"Yeah right," Izzy mumbled, crossing his arms. He shrugged Tai's hand off and walked toward Matt, probably to complain about Tai's ridiculous plan to unite all the digidestined.

Tai chuckled and shook his head. Izzy was so funny. Why didn't he believe that they would come? He was a digidestined too! He would have come if _he_ read the email. Why did he think these other kids were any different? Tai found himself getting abruptly snapped out of his thoughts when Davis ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

"Tai, you're a genius!" Davis squealed. Yes, he squealed. Tai blinked in surprise. "Assassins it the most awesome game ever! This is going to be the best thing that has ever happened! I know it!" He grinned widely, rubbing his hands together much the same way that Tai had only a few days ago when he ordered Izzy to send the email. "You rock!"

Tai shrugged, grinning. "Why thank you! I know."

Davis chuckled evilly. "Want to know a secret?" he asked, lowering his voice. Tai frowned, suspecting the worst, and leaned closer to hear the secret. "I'm going to video tape as much as I can and make a movie for us, so that we'll have another reason to all be gathered together. See? The game unites the digidestined, and the movie gives us another reason to get together again! It's perfect!"

Tai blinked in surprise. "Actually," he stated, smiling proudly, "that is a good idea! It's the best one you've ever had!" He grinned and leaned closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. "Tell you what. As administrator, I give you permission to film. Just make it awesome, and get at least everyone okay?"

Davis nodded eagerly. "You got it!"

"And don't film too much of Matt. I know you love to pick on him, but this is supposed to be more about all of us than your personal fascination with playing pranks of Matt."

Davis made an innocent face. "Why Tai, I would never!"

Tai rolled his eyes. "Uh huh."

Davis grinned sheepishly, then shrugged. "Okay I wont. Happy now?"

"No. I don't believe you."

"Then I'll make a promise! I promise not to videotape Matt more than I will anyone else. Happy?"

Tai sighed and shrugged. "I guess that's the best I can ask for."

The two were rudely interrupted by a gasp from Yolei. "Oh sweet mother!" she sqeaked. "That is the handsomest boy I have ever seen in my entire life!"

Her comment caused everyone to stop talking and look at who she was referring to, and they were all taken by surprise by what they saw. A group of six people stood in front of them, cautious yet curious expressions on their faces. Five of them were boys, and only one of them was a girl, but no one really knew which boy Yolei was referring to, so they figured she must have meant all of them. They all looked to be about 16 or 17 years old, except for one who looked to be about 14. But being who he was, Tai could instantly see that they were without doubt digidestined as well. He grinned, walking forward.

"I am Taichi Kamiya," he said, bowing. "We are the digidestined, and we welcome you. I'm sure you wouldn't mind waiting for one more group, would you?"

The six seemed to hesitate, but finally one of them stepped forward. He had brown hair, and wore a hat with square goggles. A true digidestined leader. "So you sent the email," the boy said. He bowed in return, his movement followed by the other five behind him. "I am Takuya Kanbara. We will wait."

Tai nodded. "Good. I'm sure you are as anxious as we are to go to the digital world again."

Something in Takuya's face seemed to reflect that statement, and Tai couldn't help smiling in sympathy. Yes, it was hard to leave a digimon partner behind, wasn't it? He turned to Izzy and winked, then placed his hands behind his head. The next group would be here soon, he just knew it. And sure enough, he was right.

"So this is the place?" someone asked, walking up. The Adventure Digidestined turned and noticed a group of seven digidestined walking up, curious expressions on their face. Four of them were boys, and three of them were girls. They all looked to be about 16, except for one of the girls who looked like she was 14, and they surveyed the crowd of digidestined in front of them with a disbelieving expression on their faces.

"Yep." Tai walked forward, repeating his bow. "I am Taichi Kamiya, fellow digidestined. I am very glad that you made it. I'm sure you are just as eager as we are to be going back to the digital world. Aren't you?"

"Hold on a second," the older girl complained. She had red hair that was tied in a high ponytail, and her arms were crossed. "We can't just go to the digital world without a reason. It's too dangerous. Do you want to jeopardize the whole world?"

Tai laughed, reached out, and pulling Izzy forward. "Don't worry. We aren't. Izzy?" he prompted, winking at his friend.

Izzy made a face at him, then turned and cleared his throat. "I have been in contact with the digital world for several years now, and am well aware of everything that you all have done to save both their world and ours. However, you need not fear about going there. I have just received an email from the leaders of the digital world that we are _invited _to come and stay there for a while. Believe me when I say that no problems will be caused, neither are we breaking any rules by going. Besides, I believe that there are some friends there who have been requesting that you come visit." Izzy shrugged professionally. "You don't want to disappoint them, do you?"

There was an instant change in the expression of all the newly arrived digidestined, both groups to be precise. They all looked simultaneously relieved and excited. Even the skeptical red-headed girl. Tai smirked triumphantly. "So if you don't mind," he said loudly, "we have a train waiting for us. We can introduce ourselves as soon as we get to our destination. Right this way, please!" He turned and led the way, all the digidestined behind him instantly breaking into chatter.

Izzy fell into step next to him. "I guess you were right. Only one of the digidestined didn't show up," the red-head sighed. "I sure was looking forward to that haircut."

"Tell you what," Tai said casually. "If you play the game too, instead of being an Administrator with me, and you win, I'll still get a haircut."

"No such luck," Izzy snapped. "You need me to monitor, remember?"

"Oh yeah. Oh well!" Tai chuckled and slapped Izzy on the back. "Don't worry, another opportunity will turn up. You'll see!"

Rolling his eyes, Izzy mumbled under his breath and kept walking.

Tai reflected on Izzy's words, then turned back to his friend. "What do you mean one didn't show up? Which one?"

"Someone by the name of Ryo Akiyama, if the photos I have are acurate enough. I didn't think he'd show up, and I'd be surprised if he did." Izzy shrugged. "He went missing shortly after he and his group saved both worlds from total destruction from something called The D-Reaper. He hasn't been found since."

Tai nodded thoughtfully. "I wonder where he went," he mused. "Do you think he tried to go back to the digital world?"

"I'm sure of it."

Tai glanced at Izzy again, curious. "You'll have to tell me more later," he insisted, then pushed thoughts of Ryo Akiyama out of his head and kept walking. The rest of the digidestined followed excitedly, if a little nervously, but Tai wasn't worried. His scheme would work perfectly. He just knew it.

(------)

**Shibuya Subway, Basement**

Takato could hardly believe this was happening. He was walking onto a train with almost 30 different digidestined, most of whom he'd never met before, to go to the digital world just to play a game. Was this all just a dream? Could it really be real? He felt like he was walking on clouds, and had a nagging feeling that sooner or later he'd fall through them and land back onto the hard ground of reality. Still…he hoped that it was really true.

He found himself seated on the train next to Rika and Henry, and turned to glance at them. They were both zoned out, blank expressions on their faces, and he knew that they were thinking the same thing that he was. Was this really true, or just a hoax? He sighed, turning his head to look at those sitting across from him. He didn't know who they were, but they seemed just as nervously excited as he was. One of them was looking right at him. Startled, he blinked and took a better look at him. The boy had black hair that came just below his ears, and wore black under-armor under a blue T-shirt that said "I'm definitely up to something." His eyes were gray, and they were glazed over like he wasn't actually looking at Takato, but looking through him instead. Takato found himself becoming curious. Who was he? If he was a digidestined too, why did he look so…sad? Did he have to be separated from his partner too? Feeling sympathetic, Takato offered a smile to him before turning his head to stare out the window of the train.

A hand touching his caused him to start in surprise, and he turned to stare at Rika questioningly. "Hey," she said quietly, a strangely kind expression on her face. "Don't worry, okay?" She smiled, then turned to stare out the window too. "I think there is nothing to worry about."

"Why do you say that?" Takato asked. He couldn't help feeling touched by her words, and found himself thinking how glad he was to have her as a friend instead of an enemy.

"You looked like you were worried."

"Oh. Well, I'm not." Takato shrugged. "I'm just…confused."

"I know." Rika smiled again, an excited look in her eyes. "It's weird, but I think it will be a good experience. Besides, if anything happens, we'll know what do to."

Takato felt a grin spread across his face. "Yeah," he agreed quietly. "We do." He joined her in watching the walls of the tunnel go by, then gasped as the entire train was absorbed in a bright light. A loud crash seemed to echo all around him, and he found himself getting flung onto the floor. Then the light dimmed, and he shakily got to his feet. "What happened?" he yelled, instantly going into alert mode. He heard someone chuckle, and turned to see the same boy that he had observed before smiling at him.

"Don't worry," the boy said calmly. "We just entered the digital world, that's all." He chuckled again and re-seated himself. "I know it was scary. I wasn't prepared either." He turned and glanced at the five people sitting around him. "Only these guys knew it was coming."

And sure enough, only five of the digidestined seemed to have been prepared, and had grabbed a hold of the railing above their heads. They smirked at each other triumphantly, then shrugged at everyone else. "We've been on Trailmon before," one of them said.

Takato blinked. "Trail…mon?" He asked. He was answered when the train suddenly lurched to a stop, sending everyone except those five to the floor again.

"AAAWOOOGAAAAARRRRR!!!!!!!!" the air seemed to scream. "HERE WE ARE! EVERYONE OUT UNLESS YOU WANT TO BE LEFT BEHIND!"

Takato placed his hands over his ears, grimacing. "What the heck?" he yelled. "What is that?"

"Worm!" One of the still-standing digidestined yelled, walking over to a window and banging his fist on it. "You dork! Quit messing around with us! You don't have to be so rude you know!"

"TAKUYA? WELL WHAT DO YOU KNOW…" Worm laughed. "HURRY UP AND GET OFF. I WANT TO GO TO SLEEP."

Takato quickly followed the rest of the digidestined off the Trailmon, turning to watch as the one called Takuya instantly dashed to the front of the Trailmon to yell at it and eventually hug it and punch it in the cheek playfully. He sighed, shrugged, then turned to Henry and the rest of his gang. "Well," he said, taking a breath. "Here we are."

Henry smiled at him, as did everyone else, and Takato smiled back. They were back! Back in the digital world at last. And this time, it was finally at peace. Yes, Rika was right. Everything was going to be great.

(------)

**A Gazebo, Forest Terminal, Digital World**

"Okay everyone, listen up!" the one called Taichi proclaimed loudly. The entire 24 or so digidestined were seated in a gazebo somewhere near the Forest Terminal, where they had all exited the Trailmon. "We are on the largest Island on the digital world, and on the inner-most plane, if you know what that means. Most of us have never actually been everywhere on the digital world, and some of us have never seen the inner most plane either. But there are several dimensions to the digital world and we just happen to be in the very center of it all. Okay? Okay. That's all I'm going to explain to you. So if you've never been to this particular part, that fine. It doesn't matter. It's still the same digital world, just finally peaceful for once."

"Okay whatever Tai," the one called Izzy exclaimed, sounding annoyed. "We don't need you to explain all that! Just tell us what we're doing here!"

Tai sniffed and shrugged. "Calm down Izzy!" he cleared his throat. "The first thing we are going to do is introduce ourselves to one another. I'll go first. I'm Taichi Kamiya, but you can just call me Tai. I'm 19 years old. My digimon partner is Agumon." He turned to Izzy, who sat next to him. "We'll go around in a circle. Izzy, you go next."

Izzy rolled his eyes, sniffing dejectedly. "I'm Koushiro Izumi, but you can call me Izzy." He took a deep breath, then sighed, his miffed expression vanishing into thin air as he switched into a more pleasant mood. "I'm 18 years old. My digimon partner is Tentomon." He smiled to himself in memory of his dear friend, then turned to the person next to him expectantly.

It was a blonde-haired young man, about the same height as Tai. "I'm Yamato Ishida, but most people just call me Matt," he said casually. He offered a friendly smile in the general direction of everyone. "I'm also 19, and my digimon partner is Gabumon."

And so it went around the circle. Sora, Mimi, Joe, TK, Kari, Davis, Yolei, Ken, Cody, Takato, Henry, Rika, Suzie, Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta. And now it finally came to Takuya. He stared around him nervously, his left eye twitching slightly, as he discovered that he really didn't know what to say! "Come on," Tai insisted. "Name, age, and digimon."

Takuya took a deep breath, swallowed the air, and coughed nervously. "Uh…heh…" he felt his face going red, and tried to calm down. "My name is…Takuya. Takuya Kanbara. And I'm 16 years old. My…digimon…." He glanced next to him nervously, catching a glimpse of Kouji's eyes. Kouji simply stared at him. So that didn't help much. "Uh….my _digimon _was Agunimon."

"Was?" Izzy blurted, staring at him blankly. "You mean he isn't anymore? You do know that once digimon die, they come back as digi-eggs…"

"YES I KNOW THAT," Takuya groaned. "I just….said "was" cause I felt like it. N-never mind." He crossed his arms, wishing his face wasn't so red. It had never occurred to him that all these other digidestined would not have spirit evolved like he and Kouji and the others. It seems that they all had digimon _partners _instead of a legendary warrior. And their digimon all happened to be normal digimon that one could find anywhere! Except for the Tamers, that was. They seemed to have a more rare bunch of digimon. And Takuya had to admit that he had never heard of a Guilmon before. But still….explaining that he had actually _been _Agunimon might have been a bad idea.

But the damage was already done. They were all curious. "I think you're hiding something," Davis said, making a sneaky face. "You are, aren't you?"

Takuya wished even more that his face would stop being red. "No," he lied. He turned to Kouji quickly. "Your turn!"

Kouji rolled his eyes at him. "Excuse our friend Takuya," he said causally. "He is having a hard time getting used to the fact that there are other digidestined besides us."

Takuya opened his mouth to protest this, then suddenly realized that Kouji was rescuing him from a self-induced corner. He made a face to show that he was sorry for feeling that way, even though it wasn't true. The other digidestined seemed to accept this for now, and offered Takuya some encouraging smiles. _Oh well, _Takuya thought, _at least Kouji is nice enough to rescue me from this one. Though I'm sure he'll just lecture me harshly later on how much of an idiot I am. _Takuya sighed and leaned his chin on his hand. Yep. He could probably definitely expect such a lecture in the near future.

But all he got from Kouji at the moment was a slight glare. "I'm Kouji Minamoto, and I am also 16 years old. My digimon is Lobomon."

"I'm Izumi Orimoto, or just Zoe. I am also 16, and my digimon is Kazemon."

"I'm Junpei Shibayama, or just JP. I am 17 years old, and my digimon is Beetlemon."

"I'm Tomoki Himi, but my friends just call me Tommy. I guess I'll never outgrow that nickname," he laughed nervously. "I'm 14 years old, and my digimon is Kumamon." Tommy looked a little uneasy too, but seemed to hide it successfully as just being shy.

"And I'm Kouichi Kimura, Kouji's brother." Kouichi offered a smile, but his mind seemed to be roaming. "I'm 16, and my digimon is…." He stopped, a strange expression coming over his face, and then dropped his head. The once-legendary warriors were instantly alert, and Kouji walked over and placed a hand on his shoulder. Kouichi seemed to come back to reality by the touch, and smiled a weak 'thank you' at his twin before continuing. "…And my digimon is Lowemon," he said finally. Then he looked away from the group of digidestined and lost himself to a roaming mind.

Takuya could see the concern in Kouji's eyes, and felt his own eyes widen as a conviction suddenly took him. Kouichi had never actually been to the digital world before! He had gone in his mind, in a dream or coma, but he had never actually been here. His adventure had been drastically different than everyone else's! Instantly moved, Takuya offered a determined smile that he hoped was encouraging, then turned back to Tai to change the subject that was too awkward for poor Kouichi. "So that's all of us," he said dramatically. "What are we going to do now?"

Those were the magic words. Instantly, everyone stopped whispering and staring, and turned to look at Tai expectantly. What was next? The game that the email had talked about? The impatient silence seemed to hang in the air like tension before a lightning strike, and Tai laughed openly.

"Calm down everyone," he chuckled, standing up. "Like the email said, we are going to play a game. But this isn't just any game, mind you. This is a game worthy of fearless leaders and digidestined like yourself. A game that involves every skill you possibly have, every instinct, every reflex! This game, my friends, is none other than...Ultimate Assassins! Digital World style!" Tai clenched a hand in a fist excitedly, and grinned triumphantly at the stares he received.

(------)

That's it for today!!!!! Yeah. I'll explain the rules next chapter, and send everyone out to play! Woot! I can hardly wait! Hehe…..this might be the first time I am a heck of a lot more excited to read my own story than someone else would be. Haha!

Quote for the day: "Word has grabbed my royal ear……OUCH!"

Yeah. You'll never understand if you're not Tasha.

Review? Please? What do you think? Have you ever played Assassins before? You will by the end of this story, and maybe before! It's definitely worth playing! Okay so Jaa!!! I'll talk to ya later!

(Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review! Review!)

---rika195


	3. Chapter 3

**Assassins**------------------Chapter 3

Wow! So many awesome reviews! You guys are the best! Here is a shout out to all you guys to say thanks for your support and comments and critiques! I hope you guys enjoy this chapter and this story as much as I do! So here goes the honorary mention to:

**Tshk, Evide, KARASU25, TrialAndError1192812, CrestOfHealing, Usagi Sohma 83, someone, and black peeches**.

You guys are the best, and if not for you, then this story would be updated less. Well, probably not. But still, you guys are the best. And an even greater mention to **Someone** for showing that I forgot to write Sora in there! I fixed that, but would not have noticed that if not for you. Thanks a million!

Contest for all of YOU! (mentioned at the end of the chapter)

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or Assassins. I think Bandai owns Digimon, and I don't know who game up with the game Assassins. But they both rock.

(------)

**Forest Terminal, outside the Gazebo**

Agunimon peered through the trees, a mischievous grin spreading across his facial features. There they were, all the digidestined to ever come to the digital world. And they would be staying here for a week! How awesome was this? He chuckled. The funniest part was, that none of them except for Tai and Izzy knew that they would be staying that long. They all thought it was just a day trip. "Boy I want to be around to see their faces when they find out," he snickered.

"Find out what?"

Agunimon whirled around, momentarily startled, and then sighed in relief. "Oh Agumon, it's just you."

"Just me?" Agumon sniffed and rolled his eyes. "What are you doing? Are you eavesdropping on the digidestined?"

"Maybe. Isn't that what you came to do?"

Agumon grinned widely, his green eyes flashing. "Actually I came to pounce on Tai. He's been neglecting me for a few years."

"Yeah, so has Takuya," Agunimon shrugged. "But then again, I was the one who threw him back to his home. Heh. Didn't have much of a choice though." He sighed. "I really wish they could stay here permanently, or maybe we could stay with them."

"Or even that we could visit a little bit more often," Agumon agreed wistfully. "But we know its rather dangerous. Stupid Gennai keeps reminding us."

"Yeah, and I for one can't get the Celestial Digimon to give me time off to go visit." Agunimon huffed and rolled his eyes. "They keep reminding us that as long as we Legendary Warriors are protecting the digital world, we'll have peace. But still….we need a vacation every once in a while…"

"What are you two idiots doing here?" Someone interrupted. Both fire digimon turned to see none other than Lobomon standing casually before them. "Spying?"

"Wait to pounce, actually," Agumon shrugged.

Lobomon shrugged. "Fine by me. I just came to see how far away I have to be before Kouji knows I'm here."

"Probably pretty close," Agunimon stated thoughtfully. "He's concentrating on his brother right now."

"You'd be surprised," Lobomon chuckled. "I think he may already know. There's really no way I can surprise _him. _Takuya though, he's easy to sneak up on."

"Don't dis my guy," Agunimon grinned.

"Will you all shut up?" a very female voice hissed. The two Legendary Warriors looked down and noticed a Palmon crouched in the bushes. "We are all eager to see our partners, and we have to wait until Tai is done explaining everything. So shut up and let the rest of us plan how we're going to reunite with our partners!"

Agunimon nodded, then crouched down as well. After a moment of silence, he glanced at himself and chuckled. "I hate being so bright red," he whispered. "There's no way to camouflage myself."

Lobomon offered an amused grin, then faded into the trees out of sight. Like a ninja. Agunimon shook his head enviously, then went back to watching the digidestined in the Gazebo. He was all too aware of the large amount of digimon all hiding in the same area, waiting impatiently for Tai to stop talking so they could attack. If their partners didn't know they were here, they soon would, just by the tension in the air.

(------)

**Gazebo, Forest Terminal**

"The game that we are playing, Ultimate Assassins," Tai began, a commanding tone to his voice, "lasts for a week. Yes, a week." He grinned at the shocked expressions of the digidestined around him, and noticed that only Davis was not shocked. Apparently, Davis knew all about playing Assassins, and was pretty much aware that it would mean spending a week in the digital world. "I'll explain the rules, the point of the game, and how we're going to play it, and then I'm going to send you off and make you play. Got it?"

"Wait…" Matt stood up, a frown on his face. "We didn't come prepared to spend a week here. I for one have work, and other people have school! You can't just expect us to forget all that!"

"Actually Matt," Izzy said, a calmly professional expression on his face, "we wont be spending more than an hour here. You see, time goes differently here in the digital world. At least, in this part of it. There are several layers to the digital world, and we are on the innermost layer. Time goes quickly here, and one week can be only a few minutes to an hour back at home. So really, you wont miss anything."

"Well…" Matt tried to come up with something else to say, then shrugged and sat down. "Heck if that's the case, let's stay longer!"

"Sorry, but we're just going to play until the game is over. Got it?" Tai cleared his throat and brought the attention of everyone back to himself. "The point of the game is to be the last man standing. If you are the last one left, you win a huge prize. This prize is a _sur-_prize, so I wont be telling you what it is. How it works is this: You are an Assassin. All of you." He picked up a bag that he'd been carrying on his shoulder, and began to walk around the circle. To each person he handed them a water gun and an envelope, and then walked back to the head of the circle where he had begun. "On the card is the name of the person that you are supposed to assassinate," he stated. "You are to shoot this person with your water gun. To kill someone you only need to get them wet, but they do need to feel the water on them or it doesn't count as a kill. Okay? So here are the rules:

"Safe zones: We will have designated safe zones where we will be staying. We'll be staying at an Inn that has offered to board us for free and give us food. You are safe and cannot be KILLED in your own room, in the dining area, in any bathroom, and in the meeting room. The meeting room is the place where you can go to ask question, or to report anything. It's the place where we go to be serious, if there's a discussion that needs to happen that shouldn't be disturbed by the game. Also, Izzy and I, the administrators for this game, will be in there should you need to find us. However, should you happen to wander into someone else's room, you are fair game to be killed!"

"Wait, administrators?" Davis asked. Tai glanced at him, momentarily annoyed, then noticed that Davis was not asking the question for his own sake, but for the sake of the others in the group who did not understand the game.

"Yes," Izzy answered. He cleared his throat. "During the game, Tai and I will not actually be playing. We are the ones that make sure you follow the rules, and make sure you make your kill on time. We also monitor things so that we can be aware if there is a problem, of if someone gets lost."

"Why would someone get lost?" Davis persisted.

"Because we don't expect everyone to just stand around," Tai rolled his eyes. "We expect you to go explore, hang out with friends you haven't seen in a while, and make getting assassinated hard. It's supposed to be an adventure."

"Oh," Davis commented. He sat back, placing his hands behind his head with a satisfied smile. "Thank you."

Tai sighed, then continued explaining the rules. "The next thing I want to bring up are the kills: When you make a kill, you must shoot your person with a water gun. However, there must be 1 witness, no more, no less. Otherwise it doesn't count. A witness constitutes as someone who sees the assassination or enough of the assassination that they would be a viable witness if this were to be a real assassination. If someone has their back turned or eyes closed they are NOT a witness. If someone sees the stream of water hit the target and has a good idea who shot it, but doesn't see the actual gun they are still a witness. So basically, please just use common sense as to whether you or someone else is a witness."

"Does a digimon count as a witness?" Sora asked, a confused expression on her face. She brushed a strand of hair behind her ear, and stared at Tai expectantly. She seemed to be hesitant about playing this game.

"Yep," Tai nodded. "And there are lots of digimon in the digital world, so you need to be really careful, and plan your kills well."

"This is sounding really complicated," Yolei complained, sighing. "I don't understand."

"That's cause I'm not done explaining," Tai answered her cheerfully. "Let's move on and cover everything before I open up for questions. Okay?" He glanced around, then nodded. "Right. So, next is the issue of Time: You have 24 hours to make a kill. Once that time is up and you haven't made a kill, you are eligible for "Extermination" by Izzy or me. Since we are the Administrators, if you guys don't make your kill on time, you've failed, and we have to kill you off. And seriously guys, don't test us! Izzy and I can exterminate you wherever we want. Since Izzy will be monitoring all of us, we will have a pretty good idea of where you are, and will be able to find you easily." He grinned widely. "This game is really serious, so I expect you to take it that way.

"Next up, the Kill Box: The Meeting Room will have a "kill box" located on the table in the back. You need to drop your "kill card" (the note card in the envelopes I gave you) into the "kill box" once you have made your kill. If for some reason you forget to do this, or you lose the card, or it gets eaten by a digimon, or whatever reason you have for not putting it in the box, please email Izzy and I so we don't kill you."

"How can we email you?" The girl called Zoe asked, frowning. "It's not like we have computers. Or your email address for that matter."

"Oh, good point," Tai frowned in thought. "Well, do you guys all have cell phones?"

The digidestined checked their pockets and purses, and all of them nodded. Davis held up his D-Terminal with a shrug, indicating that he and Kari and the others already knew how to email them.

"Well then, you can send us a text message. Here's my phone number." He rattled out his number, watching with amusement as the entire group of digidestined entered it into their phones. He couldn't help feeling satisfied that he had given them another way of being all connected as digidestined. When they were all done, he nodded and went back to explaining the rules.

"Okay guys, here is another little tidbit of information you'll find valuable," he said excitedly. "It's called Neutralizing: You may neutralize the person who is trying to assassinate you, and make them unable to kill you for a while. All you have to do is squirt them with water and they cannot kill you for 1 hour. However, there are rules to go along with this. You cannot neutralize someone in the safe zones, but everywhere else is OK."

"There are so many rules," Suzie murmured, looking slightly disappointed. "How will we remember them all?"

"You will," Henry answered her, smiling. "I'm sure that once we start playing, we'll catch on pretty quick."

Tai smiled. "Henry's absolutely right. But we're not done yet." There were noticeable groans from the digidestined, but Tai didn't let that bother him. "Almost done guys," he teased. "In fact, this is the last rule: When you make your kill, you now are responsible to take that person's target and assassinate that new person. You also get to keep any weapons your HIT has amassed. You continue to assassinate people until there is only one person left, and that one Assassin is the winner. However, just because you have been assassinated does not mean you've stopped playing. Instead, you can accompany people to help them make their kills. You can choose who you want to win, and try to help them. Or you can sneak around to protect a friend, by making sure you are always an extra witness to make kills harder. Things only heighten when you get killed. If you just stop playing, that makes it harder on the rest of us. Okay?"

Tai glanced around, and noticed that everyone seemed to understand. "Well then," he stated, stretching his arms. "These very same rules will be posted in the Inn that we'll be staying at. You don't have to stay at the Inn if you don't want to though. If you get invited to someone's house, then by all means go and have fun. But you are fair game if you do. You can stay out in the wilderness if you want, but you are fair game if you do. There is a room that is just yours for you to stay in should you wish it, but you can't just hide in there. Izzy and I will kick you out."

After a moment of silence, and waiting for people to ask questions, Tai nodded and turned to Izzy. The red-head nodded and stood up. "We will all go to the Inn for dinner," he said casually. "And then the game begins. So everyone, let's go."

He and Tai led the way out of the Gazebo toward an Inn that lay nestled in a small town near Seraphimon's castle, and glanced at each other with silent glances as the rest of the digidestined followed. Tai's gaze was optimistic, and Izzy's was placated, as they both carried different ideas of how this game would turn out. But they didn't say another word until they had all entered the Inn and began to assign rooms.

"Well," Tai sighed, after everyone had been dismissed to their rooms before coming to the dining room for dinner. "I think this is going to be an awesome adventure."

"I think it's going to be an awesome mess," Izzy shrugged. "People will get lost, some will get attacked, and some will break the rules."

"But it'll be fun! We'll make new friends, and hang out with old ones! It's like a week long adventure that is both invigorating and relaxing!"

"It's a lot of work, and things could go wrong."

"Izzy, you're beginning to sound like Joe." Tai smirked at his friend and shook his head. "Just believe me. It's going to be perfect."

Izzy offered a sardonic smile, and shrugged again. "Whatever you say, Tai," he answered. "Whatever you say."

Tai nodded, satisfied, then placed his hands behind his head. "I'm glad Davis will be recording everything," he said eventually. "It'll make an awesome movie."

Izzy raised an eyebrow, slightly intrigued about the recording part, but said nothing else as he and Tai made their way to the dining room to wait for the others.

(------)

**Takato's room, The Inn, Forest Village**

"Okay, this game seems like a lot to remember all at once," Jeri complained, staring at her shoes. She was sitting on Takato's bed, along with several other Tamers. They had all decided to meet in Takato's room to discuss the whole Assassins situation, and most of them had decided to sit on the bed. That left Takato standing in the center of the room, looking mildly confused about the whole situation.

"But it seems like a lot of fun," Suzie added, smirking. "Come on, it's like having a huge adventure, without the life threatening part! It'll be fun, and we can probably get our partners to play with us! I don't see why we're all so worried."

"The problem, Suzie, is that we don't know these other guys." Henry sighed, placing his hands behind his head. He, Suzie, Jeri, Kazu, and Kenta were all on the bed, while Rika stood by the window. He glanced at Takato, who still stood in the center of the room looking a little lost. "What do you think about them, Takato?"

Takato glanced at Henry, then at everyone else in his room. "Well," he said, taking a breath. "I think that we can trust them." His response was greeting with hundreds of different expressions. "For one, I have no doubt that they are, all of them, digidestined. And they all seem to be just as wary as we are. For another, that guy Tai seems to want to bring us all together as a unified group of digidestined, instead of four separate groups. And frankly, I see nothing wrong with that. I think he's right. We are stronger if we all know each other and work together, rather than being separate. This way, if something does happen in the future, we will be stronger."

"Yeah but…" Kazu frowned, wrinkling up his nose in an expression that denoted disbelief and distaste. "…there are so many of them! What if they don't like us? What if this is some huge competition or hoax?"

"Come on, you don't actually believe that!" Takato rolled his eyes. "Guys, we're going to see our digimon again! Guilmon! Renamon! Terriermon! Lopmon! Guardromon! MarineAngemon! And yes," he said, turning to Jeri confidently, "Leomon too. We are being given a chance that we've dreamed about, and so is everyone else. We'd be ridiculous to turn this down just cause we don't know anyone else very well." He turned toward the door. "Well I'm going down for dinner. Who's with me?"

He was rewarded with a unanimous vote to join in the fun, and everyone leapt up to join him. Together, they exited the room and headed down the stairs. Takato glanced up, noticing a similar group of digidestined exiting their goggle-head's room at the same time, and couldn't help grinning to himself. Yes, they didn't have to worry about these other digidestined. They were all the same in a way.

Satisfied, he led everyone down the stairs and into the dining room, ready for anything.

(------)

**Dining Room, The Inn, Forest Village**

The large digimon reached out a clawed hand, then tapped the shoulder of the bushy-haired digidestined in front of him. He was pleased when the human turned around and paled. startled by the appearance of the large, scary digimon.

"Can I help you?" the human asked, he stuffed his hands in his pockets, but still carried a wary expression. Apparently he thought that the digimon was going to attack him.

"I bring a message, from my Tamer," the digimon growled. Again, he was pleased when his voice seemed to cause a shiver of fear in the human's body. "He wants to play, but he wont be here for a little while. He apologizes that he's running late, but a...situation...kept him busy."

"A situation huh? But he's coming?" The human looked thoughtful. "You mean Ryo Akiyama? The one who disappeared all those years ago?"

The large digimon nodded. "He'll be here tonight, most likely, so you can start the game without him. Unfortunately, he's a little slower than I am, and has trouble getting here as fast as I do."

"I see. Well where is he, may I ask?"

Cyberdramon--for that was who it was--growled in response. "Busy," he stated, turning away. "I have to go fetch him."

"Is he in the digital world, or the human world?"

"Neither," Cyberdramon answered with a sniff. He turned and flew into the air, leaving the human behind him. "I just wanted to pass on the message. He still wants to play."

"Well...okay..." the human with the big, bushy hair frowned, seemingly confused by the digimon's answer, then walked away to join the others.

Cyberdramon was satisifed. He nodded, then activated a portal to enter the other dimension where his Tamer waited for him. "I passed the message," he stated, a bored tone to his voice. "Could you give me something more exciting to do, now?"

"Sure," Ryo rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. "You could help me get out of this stupid time-dimension you got me in!"

"How was I to know that I'd get you locked in here?" Cyberdramon growled and pretended not to be interested. "You're the one who wanted to go exploring."

"Well I didn't want to get trapped. It's a good thing no one else knows I'm here, or they'd think I was an idiot."

"Maybe you are."

Ryo gave his partner a warning glare, which quickly dissovled into a half-smile. "Oh well. I'll be excited to see the others again. It would have been cool to hang out on the human world with them at least for a year, you know. You didn't have to drag me over to the digital world with you."

"It gets boring without you. Besides, you promised to travel with me wherever I go."

"And you promised to help me out of situations like this one! Now get moving!"

Chuckling, Cyberdramon grabbed Ryo and activated a portal, vanishing back to the digital world.

"Well if it was that easy," Ryo grumbled, "why didn't you just do it before?" Getting no answer, he simply chuckled and waited for Cyberdramon to set him back on the ground. "Well, let's go say hi to the others. Shall we?" He walked toward the Inn, not waiting for Cyberdramon to follow him. And a smile spread across his face. All those years ago, when the digimon were sent back to the digital world, Cyberdramon had pulled Ryo to the digital world with him. And since then, they'd traveled almost everywhere except to the human world. So naturally, Ryo missed all his friends. Sure, he'd promised his partner that they'd always go everywhere together...but sometimes he got lonely. He couldn't even express how excited he was to see other humans again. "Someday," he said out loud, causing his partner to look at him. "Someday we're going to live in the human world. I'll take you with me. And we'll have all our adventures there. What do you say?"

"Would we be allowed to?"

"Probably...as long as we don't cause any problems, or mess up things here."

"Then...why not? So far that's been impossible, and you know it."

"Well, maybe that'll change."

Cyberdramon sighed, shaking his head. "Just get to that Inn and hang out with those humans," he teased. "I'm going to wait outside with all these other digimon. It might be fun to join them in their secret plan."

"Okay. Have fun." Ryo grinned, then ran into the building at top speed, hardly able to contain his excitement. He was going to see his friends again!

(------)

Thanks so much! Please pop over to the review button and let me know what you think! You guys rock!

But yeah seriously…..review. Please? How am I doing? Is there anything you want to see in this story? Characters I am neglecting? I'd like to know. Thanks!

**Oh hey, here's a contest for you! Whoever writes the best review for this chapter gets to choose what character I focus on the most for chapter 4. And they also get to choose a digimon I focus on the most. Ha! Motivated to write a review now?**

--Rika195

(Official Rules for Assassins)

So if you guys want the official rules for Assassins, here they are as they were given to me. Since I am playing this game at college, I will give out the college rules. You can adapt them however you want to, as I have adapted them for this story. I did not write these rules, they were given to me. Okay? Enjoy playing with your friends on a retreat or during the summer some time! This is great to play even during a regular week, cause you can have your house be the safe zone, and then still try to get your friends. Haha! I dunno. There are a million possibilities how to play this game. Have fun!

Assassinate your targets, and be the last man standing. That is the point of the game. Use your stalking skills for better results! Lol. To kill someone you only need to get them wet. You may buy your own gun or make one (poking a hole in the top of a water bottle works great).

1. Safe zones: You are safe and cannot be KILLED in the following places...your own room, cafeteria, any bathroom, and your class. Should you happen to wander into a class to talk to a friend or a prof you are fair game.

2. Kills: There must be 1 witness, no more, no less. A witness constitutes as someone who sees the assassination or enough of the assassination that they would be a viable witness if this were to be a real assassination. If someone has their back turned or eyes closed they are NOT a witness. If someone sees the stream of water hit the target and has a good idea who shot it, but doesn't see the actual gun they are still a witness. Please just use common sense as to whether you or someone else is a witness.

3. Time: You have 24 hours to make a kill. Once that time is up and you haven't made a kill you are eligible for "Extermination" by the administrators...don't test us! We can exterminate you wherever we want, but wont necessarily be able to always enforce the kill time rule.

4. The Kill Box: Each dorm will have a "kill box" in its lounge. Drop your kill slip (or any peice of paper with your target's name on it) into the kill box once you have made your kill. If for some reason you forget to do this...email the administrators so we don't kill you.

5. Neutralizing: You may neutralize the person who is trying to assassinate you. All you have to do is squirt them with water and they cannot kill you for 1 hour. You cannot neutralize someone in their own room...everywhere else is OK.

6. When you make your kill you now are responsible to take that person's target and assassinate that new person. You also get to keep any weapons your HIT has amassed.

The winner will get a pretty SWEET PRIZE...keep that in mind.


	4. Chapter 4

**Assassins**-----------------chapter 4

We've waited long enough for the action. The explaining is done. Get ready for a heck of a ride!

Thanks to my awesome reviewers:

**mar-chick27**

**CrestOfHealing**

**Kouzumi93**

**KARASU25**

**Evide**

**Someone**

**Tshk**

**TrialAndError1192812**

**black peeches (cough awesomebuddy)**

Also, a HUGE thanks and congratulations to the winners of the Review Contest!!! We had a tie for first place, and the prize went to:

**CrestOfHealing:** requested the character Kouji and the phrase "Gee, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside."

**Tshk:** requested the character Izzy and the phrase "Oh, cheese and crackers! It's my mom!"

**The same contest is on for this chapter as well**, and for almost every single chapter I will be doing, so that everyone has a chance to win. It will be more fun this way! The rules for this next contest are the same: You must write the best review.

If you are confused about what I am looking for, I just want you to be completely honest. Constructive criticism is great, so are questions about the story. Also, the way I am judging is just by which review I like the best. I can't usually help which one I like best, I just DO. If you want to learn what kind of reviews I think are best, read the reviews of the two winners. You might see what I mean.

Tasha….your review was so awesome, I could not stop laughing. It was….to say the least…incredible. Especially since Buddy was singing the whole time. Haha!!!

CrestOfHealing, your review was awesome because of the criticism, the questions, and the honesty. It was cool. I like that.

Everyone else, your reviews were awesome! I loved the part about black peeches having a kill box with Dawn's name in it, and I loved the poem that TrailandError wrote. I also loved that the rest of you are as excited about this story as I am!

Needless to say, it was HARD to judge whose was best.

For this next contest, the two people who won last time cannot win again. Okay? Anyway…

Are you ready? Well I am. Let's get this show on the road!

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Assassins or Digimon, this story is purely for entertainment and to educate all people on the hows to play Assassins. Cause it's an awesome game. Kudos to the person who invented it.

Show time.

(----------)

Kouji stared at the name on the note card, which he had pulled out of the envelope. It had the name "Rika Makino" written on it in sloppy handwriting. "Interesting," he stated, stuffing it back into the envelope. He placed it in his pocket and looked around the dining room. Everyone was done eating now, and most of them were heading outside. He continued to scan the room till his eyes fell upon the girl called Rika.

She was the red-headed one who looked like a punk wannabe, with her hair in a high ponytail and a studded belt. She also wore a belt around her left thigh, and around her right upper arm. Her shirt was black and white, and it said "Punks Not Dead" in scratchy white letters. Her expression was one that clearly said "Don't touch me" as loudly as possible, but she seemed to be enjoying the company of those around her.

Kouji turned and looked around him, focusing on every single person in the room just as long as he had focused on his target. He didn't want anyone suspecting anything. Then he felt something wet in his pocket. "What?" he gasped, digging out his water gun. It was leaking like crazy. "What a stupid piece of junk," he hissed, sighing in frustration. Now his note card with Rika's name on it was probably soaked through. "Looks like I'll have an excuse to not drop my card into the kill box," he rolled his eyes.

He walked outside, hiding behind a tree. Since they were in the forest, the trees were everywhere, and it was easy to lose himself in the surroundings. He dumped out the contents of his water gun—what was left—and stared at it. How could he make it not leak? Was there even a way? He stuffed the empty weapon back into his wet pocket. He'd have to think of something. And soon! They were supposed to make their kills within 24 hours, and the game started at midnight. Until then, they were supposed to get to know everyone a little better. Personally, Kouji wished the game would just start already. He was sick of waiting around.

"Still, it's nice to be back in the digital world," he sighed. He leaned against the tree and placed his hands behind his head, then closed his eyes. It felt so nice…

Kouji's stomach lurched, and his eyes snapped open. Someone was close by…someone he knew…someone he missed…

Kouji smirked. Lobomon! He was nearby! Excitedly, he turned and looked around. Lobomon was nowhere in sight, but that was probably because he was good at hiding. Or perhaps Kouji could simply sense him from far away. Whatever the case, he was close enough for Kouji's senses to scream at him. "Playing a game of hide-and-seek are we?" Kouji chuckled. He darted off at top speed into the forest, following the steadily growing feeling of electricity that seemed to course through his veins. Then abruptly, the feeling vanished. Kouji skidded to a stop and looked around. Where had Lobomon gone?

His thoughts were cut off when something snapped around his feet, yanking him upside down into the air. He yelled, thrashed wildly, then grabbed his bandana before it fell off his head. Then he noticed someone standing in front of him. "Lobomon…." He growled, holding one hand on his head and the other to hold his shirt down…er…up. "That was stupid, what did you do that for?"

"What does it look like?" Lobomon snorted. He crossed his arms and smirked at Kouji triumphantly. "It's a trap, to cough welcome you cough to the digital world. And to show you how much I missed you."

Kouji rolled his eyes…then vowed not to do it again. Rolling his eyes while upside down made him sick to his stomach. "Gee, I feel all warm and fuzzy inside," he snapped. "Now would you get me down already? I kind of don't like hanging from a tree."

"Maybe," Lobomon shrugged. "It's kind of fun to see you hang like that. Besides, nothing can stop me from tickling you."

"I'm not ticklish. Now get me down already! I have a game to play!"

"Actually you are ticklish. I would know." Lobomon grinned evilly and took a step closer. "Besides, the game doesn't start till midnight anyway." He raised his hands, twiddling his fingers eagerly.

"Lobomon! Nooooo!!!!! Don't touch me! Get me down from here RIGHT NOW!" Kouji thrashed around again, letting go of his head and his shirt to push Lobomon's hands away. The bandana fell to the ground, and his shirt tried to cover his face. Needless to say, it did nothing to help protect him from being tickled.

"Oh! I see your stomach! So tempting!" Lobomon laughed evilly, then started tickling Kouji ferociously. "WELCOME TO THE DIGITAL WORLD!" he howled. He showed his poor victim no mercy whatsoever, until Kouji's laughs and screams would not allow him to breathe anymore. Since he was hanging upside down, that time came quicker than it would have otherwise. Almost as soon as he had started, Lobomon stopped torturing his victim and cut the vine that held his leg. Kouji fell to the ground ungracefully.

Kouji was furious. He pulled himself to his feet, gasped, and retied his bandana with a vengeance. "You are going to pay for that you oversized puppy!" he growled. "You are going down! DOWN I tell you! And don't you EVER do that to me again!"

Lobomon shrugged. "I couldn't help it!" He laughed. "So who are you supposed to kill?"

Kouji glared at him for a long time. His feeling of being violated was much greater than his happiness to see his friend, and for several minutes all he could think about was walking away in anger and not talking to the Legendary Warrior for the rest of the day. But…he sighed, crossing his arms and blowing a piece of stray hair that had fallen into his face. "I have Rika," he said crossly. "Will you help me assassinate her?"

"If you help me with my target," Lobomon nodded. "It's a deal."

"Wait, you're playing too?" Kouji raised an eyebrow, genuinely surprised. "I thought you were just…"

"Just going to sit back and watch? Are you kidding me? You honestly must not know me as well as you think!" Lobomon chuckled. "I am DEFINITELY playing this game, little wolf. You can bet your life on that!"

Kouji shrugged, slowly becoming placated. He _was _happy to see Lobomon again….but still really annoyed. "Then who do you have for your target?"

"I have some kid called Davis. From what I hear about him, I'd be _happy _to kill him, haha." Lobomon turned and glanced around. "But no one is around to hear us say that, so our secrets are safe. Oh, and sorry about the tickling. It's just…when we heard you guys were coming back, Agunimon and I couldn't help planning…"

"You teamed up with Agunimon to come up with that?" Kouji blurted. "How could you?"

"He _is _my best friend…besides you and Lowemon…." Lobomon shrugged. "And he's really good at coming up with pranks. I wasn't going to do one, but when I heard what he had planned for Takuya…" Lobomon burst into a fit of chuckles and leaned against a tree. For a while he couldn't say anything for lack of breath, but he quickly composed himself. "…I…had to come up with something too."

Kouji sighed, letting go of the worst of his resentment. "I'm guessing Takuya has it worse than me?"

"Oh, you have NO idea!"

Kouji offered a grin. "Will you tell me?"

"Nope. Sorry, I can't do that. You can ask Takuya later." Lobomon shrugged, then started walking. Kouji fell into step beside him. "So what shall we do now? Are you going to introduce me to your new friends?"

"No." Kouji rolled his eyes. "I think I'm just going to…" he stopped. "Lobomon?" he asked, a puzzled look entering his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Lobomon stopped walking as well, turning to look down on the now 16-year-old digidestined. He had grown so much…yet he was no different at all…

"Now that you're not a spirit anymore…what does that make me? I'm not a Legendary Warrior anymore. I'm just Kouji." He dropped his chin and stared at the ground, frowning. "All the other digidestined can help their partners evolve and fight. But you don't need any help from me at all. What does that make me? Useless?"

Lobomon was taken back by the question. "Kouji!" he exclaimed. "How can you say that?" Kouji turned to look up at him with surprise. "Don't you feel that electricity inside you when I'm close? Well? Don't you?" Kouji nodded once. "It's because we're connected! Yes I am a Legendary Warrior, and a heck of a lot more powerful than any other digimon you'll find here, but I can still evolve further. And that only happens when I'm with you. If you think about it, we are just like them. You are my partner…or my Tamer, if you will. That does not make you useless."

Kouji shrugged. "I guess," he sighed. "But I still miss being a digimon. It was like I lost a part of me, and I still miss it. I can't get over that feeling. I know that seems selfish, especially since I like talking to you like this better than being you, but…" he trailed off and stopped talking for a minute. Then he looked up and smiled. "Ah, what am I saying? I'd rather have this time with you than anything in the world. I haven't been this happy since…" he sighed. "Well, a long time."

Lobomon grinned. "Me too," he nodded. "A part of me is missing too now…and that part is you. We are connected, as only a digimon and his partner can be. I don't think we'll ever get over that."

"But I wouldn't give you up for anything."

"I'm glad to hear you say that." Lobomon and Kouji started walking again. After a few minutes, it was Lobomon who stopped. "Hey Kouji?" he asked. Kouji turned to look at him. "Remember when you and Takuya biomerged to make Susanoomon?" Kouji nodded again, a frown of puzzlement crossing his face. "I have the feeling that you and I could probably do that." He stared at the trees around him. "And uh….do you want to try and see?"

Kouji raised an eyebrow. "Well," he shrugged. "I'm game."

Lobomon grinned, Kouji following suit. The next thing that happened seemed to blur into a bright, blinding light, and then Beowulfmon stood in the place of the two who had been standing there before.

"No way!" Beowulfmon exclaimed. He grinned. Both the voices of Kouji and Lobomon had spoken at the same time. "Now this is more like it!" He grinned and ran back toward the Inn. "I can't wait to show Agunimon!"

"I don't want to tell anyone," Kouji's voice said. "It should be a secret, to shock them or something."

"Sounds good to me," Lobomon answered.

Beowulfmon kept running at top speed, grinning from ear to ear. Finally, the piece that was missing seemed to be in place.

(----------)

Izzy kept typing, his fingers flying away at the keyboard at an alarming rate. According to the test he had taken, he could type over 120 words per minute. But he usually typed faster when he didn't have to think about what he was writing. In this case however, he had to be very aware of everything he was putting into the computer. So his rate was probably something like 115 words per minute—much slower than his usual pace. He sighed. Oh well, with accuracy came a price. And that price was speed.

He noticed Tai staring at him with an open mouth. "What is it Tai?" Izzy asked boredly. "You have a problem?"

"No, it's just…" Tai shook his head wildly, as if trying to clear the amazement from his brain. "You type so freakin fast!"

Izzy smirked, then hid it as quickly as he could. "Thanks," he offered. "But this is much slower than I usually type."

Tai's eyes grew wider, then he turned away in frustration. He mumbled a few things under his breath, then walked over to the window to look outside. Izzy smirked. Yes Tai, Izzy could be awesome at things too. He wasn't _just_ a nerd.

It had been several hours since dinner, and Midnight would soon be upon them. Izzy sighed inwardly, relieved that as Administrator, he didn't have to play the game. It seemed like too much work and getting startled. He _hated _getting startled!

"IZZY!"

Something rammed into him, knocking him flat on his back. His laptop flew into the air, and with a shriek, Izzy leapt for it and caught it just in time. He bruised himself in the process. A huge sigh escaped his lips, and he closed his eyes. Yes, he hated being startled….like that! "Why'd you have to go and…" he blinked and looked at the face that was hovering right in front of his. "Tentomon?"

"In the flesh! Well…actually I'm not made of flesh…but of data…so technically I can't…"

"Just be quiet," Izzy groaned. He stood up and set his laptop on the table. "You _know _how I hate to be startled! Why'd you have to do that?"

"Well…seeing as all the other digimon are playing pranks on their partners…" Tentomon flew at Izzy and hugged him tightly. "I couldn't resist!" He blinked, then jumped backwards. "Wait, what am I doing?" He fell over onto his shell. "I actually hugged you!"

Izzy offered a slight smile. "Well, I missed you too." He righted his digimon friend and reseated himself on his chair. "And I'd be surprised if you didn't miss me enough to give me a hug."

"Well…" Tentomon continued to babble off random things that Izzy simply ignored, but he did not seem to mind. He simply kept talking. "Oh! You have an email!"

"Yes, I see that."

"You should open it!"

"I am."

"Who's it from?"

"It's from my mom."

Izzy stopped. He stared. He blinked. Then he screamed. "Oh, cheese and crackers! It's my mom!" he stood up in shock, then fell backwards onto the chair again. Then he got up and began running around in circles.

"Um…Izzy? I didn't know getting an email from your mom would be so…"

"No, not my Mom….my MOM Mom!!!"

"You're what?"

By this time, Tai was now joining Tentomon by staring at Izzy with a quizzical expression. "Izbo, stop running in circles and tell me what's going on," he ordered.

Izzy stopped running, then grabbed Tai's shirt. "HOW CAN SHE BE EMAILING ME IF SHE'S DEAD?" He screamed. "HOOOOOOOOOOW?"

"Who's dead? Your Mom's dead? When did this happen?"

"No, no, no, no, no, no, nooooooooooooooooo!" Izzy threw himself back in his chair and grabbed his hair. "My real mom…the one who gave BIRTH to me! She died, so did my Dad…and that's why I was adopted. So…if she's dead, then she can't possibly be emailing me!"

"That's….true?" Tai frowned. "Wait, you got an email from your dead mother?"

There was a tense silence in the room.

"What does that have to do with cheese and crackers?" Tentomon asked, confused.

Izzy stared at him in annoyance, then got himself under control. "Okay," he sighed. "I'm okay. It's just…a hoax….Or maybe someone with the same name….who just told me that she's alive and wants to see me…." He shuddered. "It could be a mean joke. So there's no reason to get upset. Right?"

Tai stared at him blankly, then yelped when Agumon tackled him.

Izzy blatantly ignored him. "Okay, I'm just going to read the email again," he decided. "And I'll trace where it came from…and…" he typed away, his fingers flying faster than ever. "…and…what's this?" He frowned. It was another email from the same location. Only…the location was untraceable! What could that mean? A hacker? A joke? He read through the email.

_Izzy, I know this is weird, and I know that it scares you. You probably don't think it's real. But it is. I am your mother, and I am very much alive. I'm sorry that we couldn't let you know, but it was vital. You see, your father and I had to be taken into hiding, because someone was trying to kill us. They didn't yet know that you had been born, so we placed you in hiding with the two people we could trust the most. We had to fake the car accident, and we couldn't even tell you goodbye. But it was to protect you, until the threat against us was gone. And now, that time has finally come. It may be too hard to accept right now, but your father and I want to see you again, and we hope that you'll forgive us for taking so long._

_Your Mother._

Izzy shivered, completely weirded out. "I…I can't accept that…" he exclaimed. "I can't." He deleted the two emails as quickly as he could, and sat there shivering for a long time. It wasn't until the clock struck midnight that he finally came out of the state of shock. "Time to start monitoring," he stated matter-of-factly. "The game has begun."

Tentomon hovered around him worriedly. "Izzy! Izzy! You're alright! Aren't you?"

"Yes I'm fine. Just momentarily freaked out. But I'm fine now." Izzy typed a few buttons, then stared at his screen. It was a satellite view of the Forest Realm, with little green dots to show where everyone who was playing was located. They were green because everyone was currently alive. As soon as someone died, Tai would get their name from the kill box, and Izzy would change the light to a red one. That way, they'd know how many people were left playing.

"So was that email really from your dead mother?"

"I don't care," Izzy replied calmly.

Tentomon crashed to the ground, then hovered around Izzy's head again. "What do you mean you don't care? It…it….that…you….it could be…..important! Don't you care that…."

"No." Izzy turned and stared at him evenly. "If it is or if it isn't, it doesn't matter. Because I'm here in the digital world, and can't do anything about it till I get home. I want to enjoy my time here, so I'm going to push it out of my head until I have to deal with it. Okay? So I'd like it if you didn't bring it up while I'm enjoying the time I have with you."

"Oh….right." Tentomon sighed. "You are so weird sometimes."

Izzy smiled. "Maybe," he admitted. "So Tentomon, you're playing, aren't you?"

"Unfortunately," Tentomon groaned. "I didn't want to, but YOU made me do it, apparently."

"You and Agumon are both playing. It'll be more interesting. And you guys can be our eyes and ears out there."

"I still say it's not fair!"

"Who is your target?"

"YOU already know, cause YOU are the one who decided all that!"

Izzy chuckled. "Actually that was Tai's job. I wrote the program that is tracking everyone. I had the harder job, you see. So actually, I don't know who you have."

"Oh." Tentomon landed and stared around to make sure that no one was listening. "I have Veemon."

"That should be easy enough."

"Not necessarily! He's wilder than an enraged Ogremon! He'll be impossible to kill! It's not fair."

"Just look for Davis. The two will be inseparable."

"Davis is harder to find that you think. I haven't seen him anywhere all day! He keeps sneaking around and videotaping everbody!"

"Already? The game hasn't even started!" Izzy stared thoughtfully at the screen. "Well, I'll let you cheat this once, but no more after that, okay?"

"ALRIGHT! It's pays to be the partner of the administrator!" Tentomon flew around excitedly. "Where is he?"

Izzy pointed to the screen, and Tentomon watched. Veemon was indeed with Davis…and the two of them were just outside the Inn. They weren't moving, so it was pretty safe to say that they would still be there by the time Tentomon came around. "Now here's what you gotta do," Izzy instructed quietly. "Sneak up, and then call both of them. Ask if they've seen Gatomon, and inform them you need to find her. Act like you always do. When no one is around, pull out your gun and shoot Veemon. Then you take his note card and go after the person on his card. Got it? And make sure that Davis is the only witness!"

"This is too complicated…" Tentomon sighed. "But here I go anyway!" He zoomed out, taking his little plastic water gun with him.

Izzy watched him go with a smile. "Oh Tentomon," he chuckled, shaking his head. He then went back to monitoring, trying to enjoy the quiet around him. Still, the email from his mother was bothering him. There wasn't anything he could do about it right now, and he wasn't even sure that he wanted to do anything about it. But…if it was true…then what should he think? Should he be happy? Or angry? He sighed. This was going to be a loooooong night.

(----------)

Okay that's all for this time! But do not worry. The excitement only grows from here! Now remember, if you didn't read what I wrote above, then I'll say it again.

REVIEW CONTEST!

Write the best review, and you get to do the same thing the last winners got to do. You get to decide on which character I focus on. You can chose any character, even ones that have already been chosen.

There will be a Review Contest every chapter, so that everyone has a chance to win. The winners of last chapter cannot win this chapter.

So what are you doing? REVIEW!

And thanks for reading! God bless you!

Rika195


	5. Chapter 5

**Assassins------------chapter 5**

Woot! New chapter! Sorry the last one was so short…..

Big thanks to my reviewers: **Usagi Sohma 83, CrestOfHealing, KARASU25, Tristar, RockBane, Thunder Demon, black peeches, tazkol the master of emeralds,** and **Tshk**! You guys are the greatest, and your reviews made me so happy!

_Awesome job_**Black Peeches** _for winning the Review Contest!_**Prize**: the character Takuya! And the phrase "MAN you guys are so much dorkier than me!" Congratulations!

Remember guys, you can win too!

**REVIEW CONTEST**! Same as last chapter! So read the reviews of the winners if you want to know what reviews I like best! (Read CrestOfHealing's reviews, cause they are my favorite no matter what. Seriously. _CrestOfHealing, you would have won if you didn't win last time. Your review was my ultimate favorite_.) **Rules**: You write the review I think is best (i.e. comments about the story, humor, questions, critiques, and HONESTY), and you get to choose a character and a phrase they say or an action they do. You only get to choose if you win, so don't go choosing them in your reviews, cause they wont happen. K? Also…If you won last time, you cant win this time, but the winners from chapter 3 could win again, so TRY YOUR BEST!

(And even if you don't win, just let me know who you want to see more of. Cause that's good to know. Kudos to those who did that last chapter!)

Also, new concept: When a digidestined is biomerged with its partner like Kouji is, the **digimon's voice** will be written in normal letters, and the **digidestined's voice** will be in italics. Get it? Got it? Good.

**Disclaimer**: I don't own Digimon or Assassins

Show time!

(-----------)

**Outside the Inn, 12:15 AM**

Beowulfmon peeked around the corner, concentrating on the boy that sat in the bushes. He was wearing goggles, like Takuya, only his were round and blue. There was a veemon sitting beside him, talking with him.

"Uh oh," Beowulfmon whispered. "Tentomon is there. That makes two witnesses. We need to get him out of the way."

"_I think Tentomon is trying to make a hit_!" Kouji's voice answered back. "_We can't let that happen! He'll get ahead of us! Come on, let's go out there._"

Beowulfmon stepped out, walking right up to the three that were hiding in the bushes. "_What's going on?_" he asked in both Lobomon and Kouji's voice.

"Oh!" Tentomon exclaimed, obviously disappointed. "Nothing….just…looking for Gatomon…." He flew off, muttering to himself. The other three watched him go.

Davis, Beowulfmon's target, turned and stared up at them. "I think he was trying to make a hit," Davis said calmly. "And so are you, I wager." He stood up and brushed himself off. "However, you can't. Cause there are two of you." He took out his water gun at shot them easily, then grabbed Veemon and walked away. "Neutralized!" He called. "That means you can't kill me for an hour." He turned around and winked. "I'll be watching for you." Then he left.

Beowulfmon growled. "Well THAT didn't go so well," he complained. "Maybe we should go after your target, Kouji."

"_Yeah, sounds good to me. Let's go_." Kouji groaned, and Beowulf turned and began to run. Maybe this game was going to be harder than he thought.

(------------)

**Outside the Inn, 12:22 AM**

"How did you know he was going to shoot you?" Veemon asked, awed out of his mind. "That was amazing!"

Davis chuckled. "When you've played this game once, you're ALWAYS prepared, little friend." He glanced around, as if looking for something.

"But how did you know there were two of them? There was only one digimon!"

"Didn't you listen? When he spoke, it was two voices. My guess is that he's biomerged with someone, just like you and Wormmon biomerged to make Imperialdramon. You know?"

"But how did you know they were after you and not me?" Veemon persisted. He crossed his arms up and stared challengingly up at his partner.

"Well, that was easy. I thought you already knew the answer to that one," Davis teased. He gave a smug expression. "Tentomon was fiddling with his water gun, trying to fire it at you for like, two full minutes. He was having a hard time cause he doesn't have fingers, but he was still trying. I was surprised you didn't notice."

"But…why didn't you shoot him too?"

"Cause he was after you, not me!"

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause I thought it was obvious."

Veemon trembled angrily. "Why you….oh yeah? Then how did you know that the digimon was after you and not Tentomon? Huh?"

"Oh. Well, cause he—or they—would have followed Tentomon instead of sticking around." Davis smirked and patted his friend on the head. "It's all a matter of simple logic my friend. Simple logic."

Veemon grumbled a little bit, making his words loud enough to read Davis' ears. "Yeah…well….you didn't use to know what logic was!"

Davis placed a hand to his chin thoughtfully. "Hmm……you're right! But a couple years have passed, and I'm a lot older than I used to be. You didn't expect me to still be as dumb as I used to be, did you?" he laughed openly at Veemon's unreadable expression. "So who should we go after first, little buddy? My target or yours?"

Veemon seemed to snap out of his annoyed state, and thought carefully. "Um….whoever is easier. I have the big guy called JP." He held out his note card proudly. "What about you?"

"I have Matt," Davis smirked gleefully. He chuckled and rubbed his hands together. "Perfect." He glanced around then started to walk again. Veemon followed him. "I say, let's go after JP first. I think he'll be easier. I want to save up my hit on Matt till tomorrow, where I can get a better video." He laughed again. "Look out Matt, cause you're going down!"

Veemon grinned, awe growing on him for how smart his partner had become, and then climbed onto Davis' shoulder. "I'm glad you're my partner," he said happily. "Cause you're the coolest ever!"

"Thanks Veemon! So are you."

(------------)

**In the Forest, 12:36 AM**

Kouichi stared around him, his hands by his side, totally oblivious to the figure in the trees above him. He raised a hand and brushed some of his black hair out of his face, then sighed. He seemed to be waiting for something.

Renamon watched him, silently waiting for a witness to approach. She had been stalking her prey ever since Midnight, and he didn't even have a clue. All he had done the entire 30 minutes was wander around through the night, stopping every now and then to sigh and lose himself in thought. And still, no one approached. No one came anywhere near him. Renamon was starting to get bored. Didn't this kid do _anything _interesting?

Kouichi sighed again, and started walking. Once again, Renamon waited till he got a little ways, then teleported to a tree a few feet in front of him. This was how she stalked him, silently and invisibly, and it was beginning to get a little bit more than boring and monotonous. However, she was patient. She was Renamon, partner of the best tamer that there was. She could stand to wait for the right moment, even if it meant doing the same thing for hours on end.

Renamon stared at the human, watching him walk, then frowned in confusion when he threw himself on the ground. What was he doing? Was he hurt? She watched, waiting for some other sign from him before making any movement.

Kouichi pulled himself to his knees and sat there, tears streaming down his cheeks. But a smile was on his face. Renamon was amazed and confused. Her compassion for all living things—something that had been steadily growing ever since her first biomerging with Rika—took over her desire to assassinate him, and she appeared out of the trees on the ground, a few feet away. "Why are you crying?" she asked, concern in her voice. "Are you hurt?"

Kouichi looked up at her startled. He had not known she was there. Hastily, he wiped his eyes and stood up. "No…" he said quickly. "I'm…happy, actually…" he laughed, coughing on a few tears that he was holding back, and turned away in embarrassment. "See I…I've never been here in my flesh before…last time it wasn't me, it was just my mind and…Oh never mind." He took a deep breath of air and let it out slowly. "I'm just kind of emotional, I guess. I never thought I'd ever get to come to the digital world and be happy. It was my biggest wish. All my memories are of sadness and despair. And to be here when it's at peace…and know that everything is alright…" He laughed. "I guess I look like a wimp, don't I?"

Renamon said nothing, her blue eyes trained on him in confusion. There was so much he was not saying, so much she could never understand. And yet…he really _did _seem sooooo happy…She shook her head. What a weird kid. "No," she said gently. "I think you are strong. To only have known sadness and despair, and yet to have the courage to return…it takes a lot."

"Maybe," he answered, turning around to face her. "But I still feel like a wimp." He smiled faintly. "You were going to assassinate me, weren't you? Then I had to go and cry like that and make you blow your cover. Kind of lame, I think. I'm sorry." He made a show of rolling his eyes and acting dramatic. "What a nerd!"

Renamon raised an eyebrow, interested. "Why are you sorry?" she asked. "I could have easily ignored it and kept stalking you. It would have been nothing. I chose to see if you were alright instead."

"I see." Kouichi stared around the forest, the night closing in deeper around them. It seemed so peaceful. "Well….I guess since no one is here, you can't really assassinate me, can you?"

Renamon shook her head. "But you can neutralize me."

"I could," Kouichi shrugged. "But what good will it do? No one may be here in an hour, either. I'll just wait until I have to." He stared at her quizzically. "What is your name? I guess if I knew more about digimon I would know…but…" he looked down. "My knowledge of this place is limited, and all that I do know is gone now. Not that I miss everything I used to know…" He stopped talking and glanced up at her.

"I'm Renamon. And you are Kouichi."

"Yep." He grinned. "Nice to meet you, Renamon." He bowed. "Who is your partner?" He paused. "Oh wait…it's Rika isn't it? That's what she said when she introduced herself…but at first I thought she said Ranamon. But I guess she meant Renamon instead."

Renamon nodded, and there was another moment of silence. "Well," she sighed, "I guess I should get going, since you are alright, and since no one is around for a long ways."

Kouichi gave an odd smile. "Okay," he offered. "The idiot can resume his wandering trek through the forest, followed by a stealthy fox. haha!" He laughed openly, then bowed again. "Until I see you again, Renamon." He turned and walked off into the night, looking like he was heading for something. Every few seconds he would chuckle and shake his head, as if simultaneously embarrassed and amused by the whole situation that had just occurred.

Renamon watched him, a little weirded out, then jumped into the trees again. The introduction was over, and now it was time to stalk again.

(------------)

**Outside the Forest Village, 12:47 AM**

Agunimon laughed…and laughed…and laughed….and kept laughing…..

…And Takuya continued to yell at him.

"YOU STUPID, OVER-HEATED AIRHEAD! USELESS IDIOT! CRUEL, TWISTED, TERRIBLE, INTOLERABLE FIEND! I AM NEVER TRUSTING YOU AGAIN! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU DID THAT TO ME! I AM NEVER SPEAKING TO YOU AGAIN! DO YOU HEAR ME? NEVER! THAT'S RIGHT, NEVER! SO STOP LAUGHING YOU CHEESE-BALL!" Takuya stopped yelling and grabbed his throat, his voice going out on him. He'd been yelling for the past hour, perhaps longer, and it was more than taking its toll on him.

He threw himself on the ground in anger. "Stupid Agunimon….stupid prank….Never speaking to him again."

Agunimon's laughter continued loudly, as if he could not stop. There was so much glee in it that Takuya was ready to blow him to pieces. Of all the intolerable things….

Takuya had been happy to see his friend at first…for a full _three seconds_. Then he'd been winded, blindfolded, and swept off into the sky. When the blindfold had been taken off his face, he found himself high about the clouds, in BurningGreymon's hands. When he had demanded to know what was going on, the beast digimon had simply laughed evilly and said "Welcome to the digital world, Takuya!" and dropped him.

That's right, he'd dropped him. Takuya had been horrified, and he was sure his screams could be heard through the entire digital world. He found himself landing in a huge pile of straw, which saved his neck to be sure, but the trouble had only just begun.

Enraged Ogremon grabbed him out and started to beat him up, saying he'd ruined their glorious straw pile, and ordered him to clean it up. They forced him to pick up every single piece of straw and place it back exactly as it had been, and if he didn't do it right, they threw their attacks at him. By the time it was finished, he literally was ready to kill the digimon he'd thought was his best friend.

But it wasn't over yet. Agunimon had come to pick him up, but with another little "gift" to give him. This time, it was a baby digimon. "Hey Takuya buddy," he said grinning. "I was wondering if you could watch this little one for a bit? I've got to…uh…go somewhere for a second." He tossed it into Takuya's arms and dashed off.

The little thing instantly started attacking Takuya, and tried to eat him. Takuya did everything imaginable to make it stop, but it kept biting him and blowing attack bubbles that electrocuted his face. Finally when he could take no more of it, its mother came and rescued him…only to start being him up in its place. She accused him of kidnapping and other terrible crimes, then called for help. Agunimon stunningly came to the rescue. "What's going on?" he had demanded. "This human is trying to kill my baby!" the mother screamed. "Well then, I'll take care of him!" Agunimon threw a fire attack, which enveloped Takuya completely. Then he grabbed him and took off, saying he'd put the little human "where it belonged".

And that was what had brought them back to the Forest Village an hour before Midnight. Since then, Takuya had been yelling his head off.

"You're evil, Agunimon," he called hoarsely. "Why'd you even do that? Don't you know you could have killed me? Pyro Tornado is a powerful attack! It HURTS!"

Agunimon was on the ground, laughing like crazy. "So…awesome!" he managed to say. "You….so…..hilarious!"

"Har, har. I'm laughing _real _hard. Get up you idiot. Don't you know the game's started already?" Takuya pulled himself to his feet, dusting himself off. His clothes were still torn, and his body was still bruised all over from everything he'd just endured. "Why did you do all that anyway?"

"We all pranked our partners," Agunimon grinned happily, still laughing. "We all made awesome plans for all of you!"

Takuya sighed and rolled his eyes. "All of you? All of the Legendary Warriors? The warriors who are supposed to be ADULTS?" he could hardly believe it. "MAN you guys are so much dorkier than me!"

"Don't you mean, so much more AWESOME than you?"

Takuya grumbled under his breath and turned away from the giggling warrior. Talk about immature! He noticed someone walking up to them, and frowned in confusion. It was a human, but it was someone Takuya had never seen. He hadn't even been at the Gazebo. So who was he? And was he playing the game?

"Hello there," the stranger said, looking a little confused. "Are you alright? What's going on here?"

"I'm NOT alright, thanks to this overgrown BABY over here!" Takuya 'pfft'ed and rolled his eyes. "He almost KILLED me!"

"I see….what's your name? My name is Ryo."

"I'm Takuya. That's Agunimon." Takuya glared at the digimon, who had managed to stop laughing enough to stand up. "And he's a jerk."

"Oh. Are you his Tamer?"

Takuya blinked. "Tamer? No actually I'm…." he stopped talking, his mouth still open, and then closed it in confusion. What was he? He turned and looked curiously at Agunimon. "…ah…Yes, actually, I am." Takuya turned back to Ryo. "He's a handful, I have to tell you. But once I teach him a few lessons, he'll learn to grow up."

Agunimon audibly rolled his eyes.

"Well, I'm glad you're okay. I heard screaming, and I was afraid someone had got hurt." He turned and started walking. Then he stopped. "Oh, and Agunimon?" He pulled out a water gun and shot the unsuspecting digimon. "You've just been assassinated." He held out his hand. "Card please?"

Agunimon's mouth dropped open in shock, and he handed it over furiously. "Stupid Ryo Akiyama," he grumbled. "Should have guessed. I thought you were going to shoot Takuya!"

"Nope!" Ryo winked and patted Takuya on the shoulder. "See you around, Tamer! You teach this one a lesson." He chuckled and walked away. "He's quite the prankster."

Takuya stared at the spot where Ryo vanished away to, and turned to Agunimon in surprise. "You two _know _each other?"

Agunimon sighed, his ego obviously bruised. "Yeah…he's the _freak's _Tamer. At least, that's what we call him."

"The freak?"

"That's what we Legendary Warriors like to call Cyberdramon. He's a one-of-a-kind digimon, kinda like us, only he's a hybrid between a monodramon and a powerful evil digimon called Milleniumon. And let me tell you, if that monster didn't have a Tamer, he'd probably rival Lucemon…or at least one of the Royal Knights."

"So he's the most powerful Tamer?" Takuya raised his eyebrows in awe.

"I guess so." Agunimon turned to Takuya and rubbed his head. "But I like you better."

"Well I…" Takuya crossed his arms. "…am still mad at you."

Agunimon laughed, and patted his poor victim on the head again. "Come on," he said. "The game has begun, and if we're not careful, you'll get killed too. So let's go find your target!"

"No way," Takuya yawned. "I'm beat. You forget I was picking up pieces of _straw _and watching a _baby _for you a little while ago. I'm going to bed, and you can go wallow in grief cause you lost!" He marched off to the Inn and entered his room, grumbling and complaining the whole way. That stupid Agunimon…he'd get him back somehow….if it was the last thing he did!

(------------)

**Inside the Inn, 12:59 AM**

"Check it out Cyberdramon," Ryo noted dully. "First kill." He dropped his card with Agunimon's name on it in the kill box, and turned to his partner. "Pretty cool, huh?" He glanced at the card he'd obtained from his target absently. "Hawkmon. Hmm. There are a lot of Hawkmon in the digital world…we'll just have to look for one that's hanging out with a digidestined."

Cyberdramon simply growled incomprehensibly.

"Well…." Ryo stretched and yawned. "It's getting way past late, and even I'm tired."

"I thought it was you who said you don't need sleep when you're in the digital world," Cyberdramon taunted.

Ryo gave him a playful glare. "If I recall correctly, _someone_ got me stuck in another dimension earlier today. And before that, _someone _had to go on a wild goose chase for some strong digimon to defeat, and made me chase after him. That took several weeks, and I distinctly remember not sleeping at all the whole time. And before that…"

Cyberdramon growled loudly. "I get the picture."

Ryo smirked. "So anyway, I'm off to bed. We can continue this little adventure in the morning. Okay? And since you're so restless…why don't you stand guard?" He walked up the stairs to the room that had been offered to him, and offered his partner a wink. "Just in case."

If Cyberdramon's eyes were showing, they would have been rolling. "Go to bed, human," he growled, then flew off.

Ryo shook his head. "Ah, Cyberdramon." He crawled into bed, marveling at how nice it was. "Have a good night, you weirdo." He closed his eyes and soon fell asleep.

(------------)

**In the Meeting Room, 1:23 AM**

"Are we allowed to sleep too?" Izzy yawned. It was past 1:00 in the morning now, and most of the digidestined and digimon had already gone to sleep. Just a few die-hards were still going. But they would soon be forced to go to sleep too.

Tai glanced over at his friend, absently drinking a cup of water. "Well sure," he shrugged. "You can go to bed now, and get up in the morning. We're just monitoring to make sure everyone is safe. You know that."

Izzy yawned again, longer this time. "Yeah but…." He rubbed his eyes. "How are we going to enforce the kill rule? Huh? That's going to be hard."

"It's actually pretty simple," Tai explained, placing his hands behind his head. He was sitting on a chair next to Izzy in the Meeting Room. "At midnight tomorrow, the 24-hour point, I go to the kill box and check to see how many names are there. I'll give them to you, and you turn everyone who got killed to a red light. Then we'll check to see who _didn't _kill their target, and I'll go after them. Since you are tracking them, they should be easy to find. See? It's all pretty simple."

"But at midnight, wont most people be asleep?"

Tai chuckled. "Maybe some people will. The ones who are killed, maybe. But anyway, if there are a lot of people who didn't make their kills, and it takes too long for me to go hunt them down, I'll assign the people who are already dead to go and kill them. That way people still have to keep playing."

"Okay….if you…say….so…." Izzy's eyes slowly closed.

Tai laughed and took the laptop from Izzy's hands, placing it on the table and closing it. "Come on, Izbo," he said, pulling his friend to his feet. "I'll walk you to your room." He held onto Izzy's right arm, and grabbed the computer with his free hand, then made his way to the Inn room 107. Izzy had woken up from the movement long enough to crawl into bed. "Sleep as long as you want," Tai chuckled. "I'll just plug your computer in so it can charge."

"That…nice….you……." Izzy's mumbles turned into deep breaths, as he fell completely asleep.

Tai grinned, ruffled his friend's hair, and tip-toed out. "Well, I should go to bed too," he decided. "It is getting late." He walked over to the next room and crawled into bed, falling asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow.

(------------)

**Next Day, Outside the Inn, 7:20 AM**

"Well what do you know?" Ranamon giggled. "They're all here, playing Assassins. And we didn't even get invited." She put on a play-pout face and then let it dissolve into a smirk. "We should confuse everyone, and mess up the game. You know…kill someone and take their target, and then they wont know what hit em!"

"Sound like fun," Grumblemon grinned. "Let's go!"

"Hold on a second," Arbormon complained, crossing his arms. "That's not fair, and what's more, we don't even know all the rules!"

"Oh don't be such a goodie-two-shoes!" Ranamon waved her hand dismissively. "I think it will be a challenge for them! And besides, we wanted to welcome them somehow, didn't we?"

"I think I have a better idea," Mercurymon said with a grin, suddenly appearing out of thin air.

Grumblemon jumped back, growling at him. "Why you always come out of nowhere like that?" he demanded. "Me think you annoying!"

"Nevertheless," Mercurymon smirked, "I think we can play a better prank….not on the ones who are playing, but on the ones who have already lost."

"What do you mean?" Ranamon asked, placing her hands on her hips. "What kind of prank is this?"

"Why do we even have to do a prank?" Arbormon insisted. "Why can't we just welcome them the normal way?"

"There has been peace at the digital world for a long time since we Legendary Warriors came back into commission," Mercurymon explain dully. "There has been nothing to do for a long time, and I am getting bored."

"Oh, now I'm scared," Ranamon mocked. "I'm still waiting to hear this prank."

"Good, because it's well worth listening to," the Warrior of Steel grinned. "Come here." He leaned forward and whispered his idea to them, watching their eyes grow wider with glee. "What do you think?" he asked, once he was finished.

"Honey, you just might have something there," Ranamon giggled. "That almost impresses me."

"Me think you been hanging out with Agunimon too much," Grumblemon snickered. "It smells of him."

"I admit I have watched his ideas closely. Although I could never rival his infamous genius at coming up with pranks, I have learned a thing or two…"

"Maybe that's cause he plays more pranks on you than anyone else," Arbormon laughed. "You do something to upset him in the past?"

Mercurymon blatantly ignored that statement. "He plays more pranks on Lobomon than anyone else," he sniffed. "But let's get out of here before those humans and their partners get out of Breakfast. Some of them are already awake." He snapped his fingers and vanished, leaving the other three standing outside the Inn.

"Well, he hasn't changed at all," Ranamon sighed. "Come on, I'm leaving too. And Grumblemon, don't dig your way out of here, because everyone will know you were here."

"Awwww….."

Arbormon ran off, waving. "Later, gators!"

"Hardly," Ranamon rolled her eyes. She and Grumblemon hurried off in their own directions, leaving the Forest Village as silently as they had come.

(------------)

**In the Forest, 8:30 AM**

Cody took a deep breath, letting the happy sounds of the forest in the morning surround him. It was so peaceful here in the wild, and it was even more peaceful cause he didn't have to worry about anything coming and attacking him! He let a smile creep onto his face. This was probably going to be a really fun time.

He glanced at his note card, reading the name for the hundredth time. "Kumamon." He sighed and stuck it in his pocket. Who the heck was Kumamon? And how was he even supposed to know?

"You always get up this early?" Armadillomon yawned, walking slowly up to his partner. His eyes were half-closed, his steps wobbly. "I didn't want to wake up."

"You didn't have to," Cody informed him. "And actually I slept in pretty late today." He sighed, ignoring his friend's horrified expression. "Armadillomon, who is Kumamon? And how am I even supposed to know what he looks like?"

"Oh that's easy. He's one of the Legendary Warriors." Armadillomon collapsed on his stomach and closed his eyes. "I'm going to nap for a few minutes."

"But I don't know who the Legendary Warriors _are_," Cody frowned, crossing his arms. "You're supposed to be secret about this game, but I might end up having to blow my cover just to find out who my target is! It's not fair."

Getting no answer, Cody sat down beside his partner and started to think. There had to be a logical solution somewhere….and besides, he was 14. He could figure it out, right? He sighed and closed his eyes, letting the calmness of the forest surround him. It seemed so peaceful….until a small squirt of water shot him in the face. Cody started, jumped to his feet, and found himself looking at Sora. "You…assassinated me?" he blurted, surprised. He frowned instantly. "Well that's lame."

Sora laughed, patting him on the shoulder. "It was such a cute picture, but I couldn't help it. Armadillomon was asleep, so Biyomon was the only witness! You've been assassinated, my friend!" She giggled, and ruffled the younger teen's hair. "Hand over your card, kiddo!"

Cody grudgingly obliged, then sighed. "Well, I guess I'd better wake up the armadillo and help him go after his target."

"Yup." Sora frowned when she read the card. "Who's Kumamon?"

Cody smirked, woke up his friend, and walked off. "My problem, now yours," he offered, leaving her in the forest. He made his way back to the Inn.

(------------)

**In the Forest Village, 9:30 AM**

Takuya strolled happily through the forest village, watching all the digimon go about their business. He was in no danger of being assassinated here, where there were so many witnesses, and that gave him a chance to go sight-seeing! The coolest part was that the world was free of danger, and he didn't have to worry about being attacked!

"DIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Someone screamed, leaping on top of him and pinning him to the ground. He felt the distinct sensation of Pyro Tornado envelope him, and tried pull himself out from under Agunimon's grasp.

"FREAKIN IDIOT!" Takuya screamed. He found himself face-down to the ground, Agunimon standing on top of him. "GET OFF ME!"

Agunimon simply laughed really hard. "You are so much fun to pick on!" he guffawed. "There you were, walking happily down the street, and you had NO IDEA that I was following you! Ha! It was so funny! You totally didn't expect it!"

"Yeah well you're getting REALLY close to losing a friend, pal!" Takuya rolled out from under Agunimon's feet, then stood up and brushed himself off. He glared at the Warrior of Flame as hard as he could. "What has gotten into you lately? What is your freakin problem?"

"Nothing," Agunimon shrugged. "I've always been a prankster."

Takuya groaned. "Perfect. I have an idiot for a partner." He growled incomprehensibly, then turned around and kept walking. "If all you're going to do is pick on me, then I don't want to talk to you anymore. Go away."

Agunimon gaped at him, then ran after him as fast as he could. "Aw Takuya, don't be like that! I'm sorry man, I just…get so excited having you around….I can't help it! I do worse stuff to Lobomon, you know. I'll stop playing pranks on you!" He sighed. "I didn't mean to make you hate me….."

Takuya frowned at him, giving him a glare. "Yeah well you're doing a pretty good job." He turned his back to Agunimon.

Agunimon stared at him helplessly, then opened his mouth and stuttered for a bit. "Takuya…I….you….but….you don't…." he sighed. "Oh man….I'm sorry. I didn't realize that I was hurting your feelings! I just hoped you'd be more like me…and get inspired to play pranks with me. You know?" He turned and started walking away. "I guess if you want to be alone, I'll…..go away…."

"Agunimon wait," Takuya sighed. He turned around and offered a sneaky smile. "I am upset, but not enough to want you to leave. I just want to have fun with you, and not have you keep being mean to me! Okay? I hope that I was able to teach you a lesson from that."

Agunimon stared at him open mouthed. "You….you're worse that I am! That was mean!"

"No, you were mean! Now apologize and I'll forgive you, so that we can stop being stupid and have fun, okay?"

Agunimon chuckled and shook his head. "You rascal. Okay, I'm sorry, and I wont play pranks on you again."

"And I forgive you," Takuya nodded his approval. "Now let's go kick Kouji and Lobomon's butts!" He grinned and elbowed Agunimon in the gut, then started walking again, his partner following suit. After a minute, Takuya pulled out his note card and looked at it. "Or we could go after my target…."

"Which is…"

"The kid named Kenta, with the black hair and glasses."

"Oh he'll be easy! Come on, let's plan something big for him! But after we pick on Lobomon and Kouji. I have something up my sleeve for them too!"

Takuya grinned. "Okay!" He followed his friend into the forest, glad to finally not have to worry about getting pranked again.

(------------)

Okay, that's all for now! SPRING BREAK IS HERE! WOOT!

I'm screaming at random intervals, and it's kinda freaking me out. Maybe I need to calm down. Just maybe. And this story is not helping. Lol.

THERE, Tasha. Does that satisfy you for action? Lol. Next chapter gets worse! So….hang onto your chair cause this story might leap out of the computer and punch you in the face if you're not careful. AND GUESS WHAT? I'M COMING HOME!

Okay so peoples, REVIEW! If you want to win the contest that is. And you better try hard cause the winners of chapter 3 could win again! However, black peeches can't win this time cause she won last time. NOW PUSH THAT BUTTON AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK!

Wow, I am being rude today. I need to be more nice. SORRY!!!!! Gomen nasai! Watashi wa dasai desuyo, demo bakuhatsu shimasu. Exploding with excitement, that is.

Um….that probably didn't make sense to 90 percent of you. But that's cool. I just said sorry, I'm a dork, but I'm exploding.

So yeah. See ya later! REVIEW!!!!!!!

Rika195


	6. Chapter 6

**Assassins-----------------chapter 6**

Welcome back everyone. I missed you all while I was on Spring Break. Awwww.

Thanks to my awesome reviewers: **Black Peeches, Usagi Sohma 83, Taioraforeva11, Tristar, TrialAndError1192812, LittleFirefly44, Tazkol the master of emeralds, Kouzumi93, CrestOfHealing, **and **Tshk**. Your reviews were incredible, every single one of them. I loved them all, and it was really hard to choose a winner. Really. Thanks so much! You guys are the reason this story keeps on going.

Everyone put your hands together for the winners of the review contest: **Usagi Sohma 83, **and** Taioraforeva11!** The prizes are listed below! Take a look!

**Usagi Sohma 83** asked for: the character: Kouichi; the phrase: "Holy Saint Francis!"

**Taioraforeva11** asked for: the character: Sora; the action: hitting Tai over the head with a frying pan; the phrase: "Oh come on, you cheese head! That shouldn't hurt, considering that brown mop that you call hair is like a built-in cushion on your head!"

You guys, your reviews were ALL incredible, and it was really hard for me to judge. But by the process of elimination—which was also really hard to do—I came down to these last two reviews, and could not choose a favorite. Hence, a tie! Congratulations to everyone! Your reviews were ALL good!

And guess what? Same review contest on for this chapter as well! Isn't that exciting?

**Important notes at the end of this chapter. PLEASE make sure you read it!!!**

(------------)

**Note**: For biomerged digimon and digidestined: the human's voice is in _italics._ The digimon's voice is **bold**. Both together is both: _**italics and bold**. _

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or Assassins

Ikimashou.

(------------)

**Meeting Room, 10:00 AM**

Sora crept into the room, sneaking a glance at the two guys sitting across from each other. She had her water gun in her hand, and kept feeling it experimentally. It was constantly leaking, and she wished that it would stop. But since it didn't, she figured she'd have to live with it.

She had just dropped her card with Cody's name on it in the kill box, and was surprised to find that she had not made the first kill. She had come in second. "Oh well," she thought. "I'm way ahead of everyone else. My next goal: mooch information off the Administrators!" She smirked, crossed her arms, and walked in.

"Look Tai, I know you think that I should answer her emails, but I don't really want to," Izzy said crossly. He was typing furiously at his computer, doing who-knows-what. "I'm busy monitoring the digidestined, and making sure they don't get lost. I don't want to worry about it right now. I'll address it later."

"But Izzy! You can't just ignore her!" Tai exclaimed, looked exasperated. Sora studied his expression, wonder what he was so worked up about. Who was Izzy ignoring? Curious, she walked closer, hoping to catch a glimpse of this seemingly heated discussion.

"Yes I can," Izzy replied curtly. "And I will. Now go check the kill box, like you said you would."

Tai grumbled, crossed his arms, and walked toward the door. He didn't see Sora till it was too late, and collided with her abruptly, causing them both to fall to the floor. Sora landed on her hands and her bum hard, and glared at him. Although he had managed to fall on top of her, he had expertly rolled back before he could find himself in an embarrassing situation. But Sora was still upset.

"Thanks a lot!" She scolded. She stood up and grabbed the closest thing to her hand off the table—it happened to be a frying pan. Then she whacked his head as hard as she could with it.

"OW!" Tai yelled, his eyes widening and then squinting. He grabbed his head in pain, kneeling on the ground for a few minutes. "What was that for? THAT HURT!!!!"

"Oh come on, you cheese head!" Sora rolled her eyes and placed the frying pan back on the table. "That shouldn't hurt, considering that brown mop that you call hair is like a built-in cushion on your head!"

"It is not! And yes it did hurt! Sheesh!" He groaned loudly, then staggered to his feet with a glare. "It's not like I MEANT to knock into you! It was YOU who were in the way!"

"ME?" Sora crossed her arms and turned away, upset with him. "I was walking into the room, and you weren't looking where you were going! You're always only thinking of yourself!"

"What? That's not……grrrrrrrrrr!!!!!" Tai turned and stomped out of the room. "What is wrong with you?!"

Sora watched him go, then sighed and dropped her arms. It wasn't that she disliked Tai or anything, she just felt like she had to be defensive around him. She didn't understand it herself, but whenever she was around him, she felt like lashing out at him. And whenever she wasn't around him, she thought about him. It had been like this ever since she decided to date Matt, and it had only gotten worse through the years. However, she didn't want to think about it right now. Yes, she had been mean, and she didn't have to hit him so hard. He didn't really deserve it. But her pride wasn't going to let her go out there and apologize to him.

She sighed, then walked up to Izzy. He was still typing, and she could not tell if he had even realized what had just happened between her and Tai. However, she knew him well enough to know that he was pretty aware of his surroundings.

"What do you need, Sora?" Izzy asked, his voice mechanical. He avoided meeting her eyes, staring at the screen, like he did whenever he was upset.

"I need help," Sora said, feeling suddenly awkward. "Um….my water gun leaks. I think it's broken."

"Then take another one from the box next to the Kill Box," Izzy stated. He continued to type, and still wouldn't look at her.

Sora stood there silently, not sure what else to say. The water gun was not the reason she came to the Administrators, but she had somehow lost her voice, and could only stand there blankly.

After another few minutes of tense silence, Izzy stopped typing. He turned his head and stared at her, his eyes unblinking. "Is there something else you needed, Sora?" he asked, his voice still mechanical, yet with an edge of disapproval. And under that hard stare, Sora found herself feeling put in her place.

"Um…..no…." she said hastily, backing up a step. There was something about Izzy's reprimanding gaze that she could not stand up to. She took another step involuntarily.

"Then I suggest you go apologize to Tai for hitting him." Izzy turned back to his computer dismissively. "He was about to apologize to you and help you up when you hit him. And I think you know he didn't deserve that."

Sora found herself nodding, and turned to leave the room. If she had taken the time to look, she would have noticed herself almost fleeing from Izzy's presence. And if she had been looking, she would have not run into Tai.

This time it was Sora who found herself on top of Tai, only her reflexes were not quite as attuned as his. By the time the dust cleared, she was still on top of him. Blushing, she jumped to her feet, opening her mouth so snap at him. But something stopped her. Maybe it was because she had been the one to knock him over….but most likely it was because she could feel Izzy's eyes on her back. She closed her mouth and held out her hand, looking down at the floor guiltily. "I shouldn't have hit you….I'm sorry," she said. "And I'm sorry for knocking you over."

Tai stared at her silently for a few minutes, but eventually took her hand and pulled himself up. Sighing, he brushed his clothes off and gave her a slightly miffed look. "I forgive you," he said honestly. "But I didn't deserve it." He frowned at her for another few seconds, then sighed and tried to smile. "Was it so hard to say sorry?"

Sora found herself looking up at him, feeling ashamed of herself. She didn't know what to say.

"We're supposed to be friends, remember?" Tai patted her shoulder, then held up the kill card she had just dropped off. "Your card is probably Kumamon now, right?" He smiled at her surprised expression. "I'll take that as a yes. He's the Legendary Warrior of Ice, and he'll probably be hanging around the guy named Tommy. Does that answer your question?"

Sora opened her mouth, then frowned and blushed. "How did you know that's what I wanted to know?" she demanded, feeling even more put in her place.

"Because I _know _you, Sora," Tai sighed. He walked past her. "Have fun out there." He walked over to Izzy and placed the two kill cards by Izzy's computer.

Sora stared at him, feeling numb, and then walked out. Why did she always feel so defensive around Tai? They were friends. Or they were supposed to be! Unless….she was acting like she was because she….liked him? She shook her head to clear that thought, and ran off to find Kumamon. She didn't want to think about Tai right now. She wouldn't think about Tai right now. She refused to think about Tai right now.

….But the way he said he _knew _her……

"Ah! Sora!" She scolded herself, grabbing her head and sighing. What was wrong with her?

(------------)

**In the Forest, 10:15 AM**

Kouichi sighed, closing his eyes and letting the sunshine sink into his skin. Then he opened them again. "Oh come on Renamon, this is stupid! I know you're there. It's just me and you, so you can't assassinate me yet!" He stared upwards into the trees from where he lay on his back in the grass, but Renamon made no movement or sound whatsoever. He knew she was there….but then again…it was like she wasn't there at all. Maybe she wasn't! But he doubted it. She was just really good at stalking.

Kouichi closed his eyes once again, and decided to just wait for a minute. He wasn't sure what would happen, but he almost didn't care. Everyone else had already met up with their Digimon partner, and had some one-on-one bonding time. Or something like that. But Lowemon seemed to be avoiding Kouichi, and had made no attempt to see him, even though Kouichi had gone looking for him several times. And so, disappointed, Kouichi was waiting around till Lowemon decided to stop hiding.

"I wonder why he's avoiding me," Kouichi mumbled, frowning. "I just don't understand. Does he dislike me? Is it because I made him into Duskmon?" He sighed. He would get no answers from any of his questions, so it was pointless to keep asking them. After all, it only made him look ridiculous to Renamon when he asked them out loud. It wasn't like he was asking her, anyway!

The sunlight shined down on him, and for a moment he almost completely forgot that he was supposed to be assassinating someone. He just soaked it all in, relishing in the freedom of the Digital World, away from worry, homework, insomnia, and all other sorts of problems he daily faced. Well…the insomnia was still with him, but the Digital World was more restful anyway. The world seemed to sink away from him, blending into the sunshine until it was only him, lying in the grass, drinking in the quiet. He almost felt he could drift into sleep.

"HEEEEYAAAAGAAAAUGH!!!!!!!!!!" A booming yell right over his face caused Kouichi to leap into the air wildly, his heart jumping into his throat. His eyes snapped open, and he found himself staring into a snarling face of a wolf.

"Holy Saint Francis!" Kouichi screamed. He did a back summersault and pressed his back flat against a tree, his heart beating so fast he felt like he either had to flee for his life, or fight whatever it was that had practically attacked him. His eyes were as wide as saucers, and sweat was pouring down his face and back.

"**_Holy what?_"** His attacker asked, bursting into snickers. "**_You're so weird!_**"

Kouichi blinked, then stared at the tall figure before him. His mind told him that he knew what it was…or rather that he knew _who _it was…but he was still suffering from a major adrenaline rush. He couldn't speak, and he could barely breathe. And yet, at the back of his mind, fury seemed to be taking over, although it had not yet reached his conscious mind yet.

"_**You look like you're going to kill me**,_" the figure laughed, then sighed. "_**Sorry bout that. I just couldn't resist**._" He strode forward and offered a hand toward Kouichi. "**_Can you forgive me?_**"

Kouichi's glare finally made it to his face, and his voice came back. "Beowulfmon…." he growled, trembling. He closed his eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to calm down, but still felt sick to his stomach from the scare. "If I were a digimon, you'd already be dead. Or close to it! Fortunately for you, I am just Kouichi." He opened his eyes again. "Kouji you are terrible! You know I hate getting startled like that! And Lobomon, you should know better than to do something like that!"

"**Maybe**," Lobomon's voice answered from Beowulfmon. He snickered and shrugged. "**But I couldn't help it. Ever since Agunimon became my best friend, I get worse and worse every year. He's a bad influence on all of us you know**."

"That's no excuse!" Kouichi sat down, his knees weak. He gripped his heart and tried to stop panting. "I feel like I'm going to be sick."

Beowulfmon knelt next to him, his expression changing from amusement to worry in a split second. That was where Lobomon receded and Kouji took control, Kouichi figured. Leave it to his brother to get worried so fast. "_Are you alright? Did I really scare you that bad? I'm sorry..._" He lowered his eyes guiltily. He looked extremely upset with himself, and Kouichi couldn't help feeling slightly pleased that he felt that way.

"Look," Kouichi sighed. He leaned against the tree and closed his eyes again. The thought of Renamon stalking him instantly entered his mind, and he found himself smirking. She _still _couldn't assassinate him. There were two witnesses. "I've been kind of tired lately, and I was zoning out. Next time can you at least warn me?"

"**Yes**," Lobomon answered truthfully. He sounded guilty as well. "**Though I have to say, I'm kind of surprised that Lowemon is around. Where is he?**"

"Who knows? Avoiding me, perhaps." Kouichi's response was met with confusion, surprise, and silence. He wondered curiously what Lobomon was thinking, or what Kouji was thinking for that matter. Did they just assume that Lowemon would hang out with Kouichi every second of the day, or did they actually think he was avoiding him? Kouichi couldn't help frowning. WAS Lowemon avoiding him? Or was he simply trying to assassinate his target? Kouichi's frown dissolved into a smile. "But most likely he's just going after his target," he said casually. He chuckled and looked at Beowulfmon. "And you should do the same."

"**_What about you?_**" Beowulfmon huffed. "_**Are you just sitting around, waiting to be assassinated? Come on, you're better than that! **Besides, you're making me look bad._" Kouji snickered.

"Who says that's not my goal?" Kouichi retorted with a smirk. "And anyway, I'm not actually sure what I was doing. I just kinda…..well….to be honest I was looking for Lowemon." Kouichi sighed. "I couldn't find him, so I decided to just relax and wait for him to come to me. But you're right, it is silly. I might as well go after my target. But I have to admit, I'm having fun frustrating my assassin."

"**_Your who?_**" Beowulfmon looked confused.

"Renamon. She's stalking me, but so far she can't assassinate me. Either because there are NO witnesses, or there are too many. I have to admit, I'm rather enjoying it." Kouichi grinned, wishing he could see her face right then.

"**Well you might as well stop wasting both your and her time,**" Lobomon rolled his eyes. "_And go assassinate your target!_" Kouji agreed. He blinked. "_Who is your target anyway?_"

Kouichi stood up, smiled, and started walking away. "Why should I tell you?" he asked. He then ignored them, and went off to find the person on his card….the person known as Takato. He smirked to himself, knowing that by not telling Beowulfmon who his target was, he was really annoying them. Good. They deserved worse anyway for the scare they had given him.

(------------)

**In the Forest, 10:30 AM**

Zoe peeked around the tree, grinning. There he was: Henry, her target. He was standing next to a tree, looking up into the branches, and from his expression he seemed to be irritated with something up there. But it was perfect scenario. It was just her, Henry, and whoever was in the tree. Taking a deep breath, she hurried out and ran up to him. "Hey!" she called. "I'm looking for Kazemon. Have you seen her?" She put on an angry face and panted, as if she had been running for a while. She was good at acting upset, and right now she was acting out being upset with Kazemon.

Henry turned and stared at her casually. "No." He turned and looked back up in the tree. Zoe did the same, hoping it was a digimon or a person, so that her assassination could happen. Unfortunately, it was just a jacket. Henry noticed her glaring at the jacket in the tree, and raised an eyebrow at her. "Kazu threw it up there to annoy me," he stated. "And no, Kazemon is not in the tree. In fact, she's not anywhere around here. No one is. It's just me." He shrugged and sighed. "Looks like I'm just going to have to climb all the way up there and get it myself."

Zoe's mouth dropped open, and she blushed in disappointment. "Oh….well….I'll just….go and keep looking for her then…." She huffed and turned away. Maybe it wasn't a perfect situation after all! She took a step, then collided into someone abruptly. "Oof!" She exclaimed, then backed up to see who it was.

It was a black-haired, handsome digidestined around her age, the one who's name was Ken. He smiled at her. "Sorry," he offered. "You okay?"

Zoe nodded, then brightened considerably. A witness! She turned as fast as she could and wipped out her water gun, squirting it at Henry with all her might. Nothing happened. Horrified, she glanced down and found that her water gun had leaked, and was now empty. "What!" she screamed in rage. He scream was interrupted when a cold stream of water hit her back, and she whipped around in shock. Ken was grinning at her.

"Assassinated," Ken shrugged. He turned to Henry and pointed his gun at him. "And you're next."

Zoe could only blink as Henry moved swifter than she could see. In a split second, Ken's gun was on the ground, and Henry squirted him with the gun he'd pulled out of his pocket. "Neutralized," Henry nodded in satisfaction. He smirked at the shocked expression on Ken's face, and Zoe felt her mouth fall open in awe.

"That was amazing!" she breathed. "Are you a martial artist?"

Henry gave her a casual look that instantly reminded her of Kouji. "I'm learning," he offered. He bowed his head to Ken. "Your hand is not hurt, I hope?"

Ken shook his head and scowled. "I'll be prepared next time," he said competitively. He held out his hand for Zoe's card, and she reluctantly gave it to him. "You're not the only one who knows a few tricks." He turned and marched off, his steps almost completely silent.

"I think he's upset because I caught him off guard," Henry noted. He smiled faintly. "He's a martial artist too, I think."

Zoe could only stare at Henry. She was beginning to notice how incredibly handsome he was…not to mention swift and clever…and cute! She blushed and turned away. "Um…" she said, not sure what to say. "I guess…good luck?"

Henry laughed. "Thank you, Zoe. And I have to say, I'm sorry about your water gun. But maybe you could help me out a bit."

Zoe brightened, and turned to look at him. "Yeah?" she asked.

Henry grinned at her, apparently amused. "Do you think you can help me get my jacket?" He glanced up at the tree. "The branches are all really high up, and the tree isn't very climbable. But if I give you a boost…" He glanced at her.

Zoe looked down at her clothes. She had just come from a gym practice when she had arrived at the Train Station, and was wearing a T-shirt and some comfortable sweatpants. In her mind, it was a cute outfit, and very casual. She could move around without being restricted, and it wasn't immodest either. It was the kind of clothes she wore every Saturday. Then she glanced up at Henry again. "Sure, why not?" She walked up to the tree, actually looking forward to climbing it. She liked climbing trees.

"Thanks," Henry offered. He put his hands together like a boost, and held them low for her to step on. When she stuck her tennis-shoed right foot into his hands, he quickly lifted her up above his head.

Zoe's mouth opened, astonished at his strength, and found herself reaching the lowest branch and pulling herself into the tree. Only a few branches higher, the jacket hung above her head. She grabbed it with her hand and dropped it down. "You're so strong!" she exclaimed.

Henry smiled genuinely up at her. "Not really," he chuckled. "But thanks."

'And modest,' Zoe thought with a small smile. She climbed down, hung from the lowest branch, and dropped to the ground. 'And super cute!' She smiled and sighed. "Glad I could help, though a little disappointed about not getting to assassinate you."

"Well, it was either me or you, and you just got lucky." He pulled his jacket on and started walking away. "I'd better go wake up Terriermon, or he'll get upset at me. See you around Zoe!"

Zoe nodded, then waved, standing there like an idiot. When he was out of sight, she turned and grinned as hard as she could, blushing. Wow…Henry was so hot!

(------------)

**In the Inn, Eating Room, 10:40 AM**

"Who do you have?"

Kari glanced up to see TK standing beside her. She was sitting at the breakfast table, with a plate of food in front of her. Apparently, she and TK were the only ones in the room. "What makes you think I'm going to tell you?" she quirked an eyebrow at him. She popped a grape in her mouth and chewed, relishing its crisp sweetness.

TK set his plate down next to her and took a seat, grinning. "Cause I'll tell you if you tell me. And I have a preposition for you."

"A preposition, you say?" Kari chuckled. "Let me guess: you want to work together."

"You read my mind beautifully," TK teased. He picked up his chopsticks and began eating the contents of his plate. "What do you say?"

"I say….no." Kari popped another grape in her mouth. "These are good, you should have gotten some."

"All you have is fruit on your plate," TK noted. He chuckled. "There's lots of good food over there."

"I had eggs and a croissant before, but they're eaten now. And besides, I love melon and grapes. They're good." She kept eating, and watched as Yolei walked into the room. She looked like she was sleep-walking, and her steps carried her towards the caffeinated tea like an autopilot or something.

"But to get back to my preposition…"

"I said no, TK."

"But you haven't heard the whole picture yet," TK insisted. "Just listen: Davis and I have played this game before, and we've worked out a strategy to this game. It's the best strategy ever! Last time we worked together…and he won. This time we're not working together, and we're competing. I want to beat him this time. And I'd like you to work with me. Cause if I get assassinated, and you win, I'll still have beaten Davis. It might not make sense to you….but it makes perfect sense to me."

"Perhaps," Kari smiled at him with the corner of her mouth. "But how do you know I don't have you?"

"You don't actually have to tell me who you have…" TK shifted in his seat uneasily. "There's a whole system to the teamwork thing."

"Uh huh. Well why don't you ask Yolei to work with you?"

"Um…." TK glanced at Yolei, then back at Kari. "That's a good idea. Thanks!" He stood up, took his plate, and walked over to where Yolei was filling up her cup with hot water.

Kari blinked, feeling like she had just lost a battle of some kind, and frowned. For a whole minute she watched TK try to get Yolei to wake up enough to understand what he was saying. Then her stubborn side kicked in. She did NOT want to be left out of a plot to beat Davis in the only game he could call his specialty! Furiously, she stood up and marched over to TK. "Hold on," she ordered. "Count me in!"

TK and Yolei turned and looked at her, a grin slowly spreading over TK's face. "I thought you'd come around," he said sneakily. "Alright Yolei," he turned back to the blinking girl. "I know you're not very awake cause you probably stayed up till 4:00 talking to Hawkmon or something. But you're going to want to wake up for this."

Yolei sighed. "What?" she demanded.

"Would you like Davis to win this game?"

"Why?" She still looked annoyed.

"Cause he's going to win, unless we plot against him."

"What makes you say that?" Yolei demanded, echoing Kari's thoughts.

TK shrugged, looking irked. "Cause he always does. He's the pro at this game. Now do you want him to win or not?"

Yolei blinked several more times, then stuck a teabag in her cup. "No," she stated. She glanced at Kari, who simply stared at her in response.

"Good. Then I have a plan you'll be interested in being a part of." TK grinned, a sneaky gleam entering his eyes.

Kari felt herself growing worried, but then let herself get carried away into the excitement of plotting. Yolei seemed to do the same.

"Meet me upstairs in my room," TK ordered, going back to his plate. "I need one more person to join us, and I think I know just the man for the job!"

Kari and Yolei both spoke at the same time. "Who?" they asked. They turned and blinked at each other, eventually smiling in amusement.

"You'll see," TK laughed. There was something sinister about his laugh. "You'll see. Oh, and bring your digimon too."

Kari walked back to her plate, seated herself, and began to finish her fruit like nothing had happened. Excitement was beginning to rapidly grow inside her, and she knew that something huge was coming up. Yolei seemed to be feeling the same, because she grabbed a heaping load of breakfast and began to scarf it at an alarming speed. And for a while, there was just silence.

Then Davis walked into the room.

"Whoa," he grinned. "You can SEE the tension that's in this room!" He chuckled and walked over to the bowl of grapes, grabbing a bunch and popping one in his mouth. He turned his twinkling eyes on TK. "Dare I ask what is going on?"

"Sure," TK shrugged. His expression, his attitude, everything was perfect. He was playing the game well, and even Kari was impressed. If she didn't know better, she'd believe that nothing out of place was going on.

Davis chuckled again, then walked toward the door. "Nice try, TP," he called over his shoulder. "I'm the pro, remember? Nothing gets past me." He winked at Kari, then at Yolei. "I'll be seeing ya!" Then he walked out.

The three conspirers stared at the door awkwardly, then turned to glance at each other. The look of annoyance on TK's face was not very encouraging.

"Looks like we're going to have to try really hard," Kari sighed, "if we want to beat Davis."

"Yeah," Yolei sighed, rolling her eyes. "We've got our work cut out for us."

TK stood, now finished with his breakfast. "See you in a few minutes," he said, leaving the room.

Kari watched him leave, then stared at her empty plate. Seconds later, she hurried to catch up with him before he got too far. She was eager to know how working together could be a strategy to win the game, and how it would beat Davis.

(------------)

**In a Tree, Outside the Inn, 10:55 AM**

"Ryo."

Ryo glanced down at his partner casually, toying with the card in his hand. "What is it, Cyberdramon?" He had been hanging out in a tree all day, since early that morning, and was watching the people going in and out of the Eating Room from outside the open window. He could hear everything going on inside, and it was a handy stalking position. Plus, it helped him find out the information he wanted to know. For example, he now knew how to find his target Hawkmon.

Cyberdramon stared up at him from the ground, looking annoying. He always looked annoyed though, so it wasn't a big deal. "I want to kill my target. I want you to come with me."

"You know you aren't allowed to actually kill them," Ryo teased. He leapt down and landed beside his partner easily. "And who is it again?"

"Leomon." Cyberdramon growled at Ryo's jest, but made no attempt to refute it in any way. "He's in the clearing, with Jeri and Takato and Guilmon."

"Then how are we going to assassinate him?" the corner of Ryo's mouth turned up in a smile. "Sounds difficult."

"You are going to capture their attention. Distract them. I'll move in for the kill." Cyberdramon spoke demandingly, his statements not a suggestion. "They are working together as a group, so it will be hard to kill him. And he will sense me coming. You must go ahead of me."

Ryo sighed and stretched his arms. "Well…it's worth a try. The clearing you said?" he started walking. "I'll do my best. But you better take your chance, okay?" he glanced back at his partner thoughtfully. "Who will be the witness?"

"Jeri."

"Makes sense. I'll get Takato and Guilmon's attention then. Ciao." He walked off, hands behind his head, and chuckled. Cyberdramon was taking this game way too seriously! Either that, or he was actually having fun, even though he wasn't fighting or killing anyone! Perhaps this was a good idea after all.

(------------)

**Outside the Inn, 11:00 AM**

Mercurymon watched from the shadows, a smirk plastered on his face. Ah yes, here came the victim now! He waited until the digidestined was right in front of him, then reached out and grabbed his arm, yanking him into the shadows. The human ducked, did some sort of martial arts move, and tried to make an escape, but found himself locked in Mercurymon's unmovable grasp.

Mercurymon chuckled. "Calm down, human," he taunted. "I'm just taking you for a little adventure!" He position his arm-mirrors and snapped his fingers, teleporting back to the cave.

Cody, the helpless victim, glared around him calmly, and the aura around him was like that of a warrior. Mercurymon couldn't help being impressed. He was beginning to like his captive already!

"Well, did you get him? Ranamon asked, hopping up. She smiled a too-sweet smile at Cody's scowling face, then patted him on the head. Mercurymon was holding Cody's arms, otherwise he might have attacked her. "Sorry sweetie, but it was necessary. You'll understand later." She giggled and looked up at Mercurymon approvingly. "Good job."

"Why thank you," Mercurymon nodded. He dragged Cody to the see-through crystal bubble that had been prepared as a cell for him, and tossed him inside. There was no way out unless Mercurymon took him out. "It was my pleasure."

"Well…" Ranamon sighed and crossed her arms. "That's a quick capture and all, but I have some bad news."

Mercurymon frowned. "What do you mean?" he asked.

Ranamon gave him an annoyed look, then pointed to the door.

Agunimon stood there, next to Grumblemon and Arbormon. "What is going on here?" he asked. His eyes were wide, and his mouth was open. "You're kidnapping digidestined?" he demanded. "You could get in huge trouble! I wont let you do this!"

"Oh pish-posh," Mercurymon waved his hand. "You play pranks all the time. Let's just say we're trying to welcome the digidestined in our own way….and cause a few problems here and there."

Agunimon blinked several times. Then the sneakiness returned to his eyes. "I see," he said finally.

"What are you doing here anyway?" Ranamon demanded. She glanced at Grumblemon and Arbormon, who only glanced back at her. "This is our hang out!"

"Um…I come here all the time, duh!" Agunimon rolled his eyes. "I just popped over to say hello like I usually do…"

"And play a prank," Grumblemon growled.

"…and play a prank," Agunimon shrugged, a guilty grin on his face. "But that's not what is out of place here. You guys are the ones acting different!"

"How so?" Mercurymon demanded casually. He glanced at Cody, noticing that the human was observing everything with both a scowl and acute interest.

"Well for one, you guys are kidnapping innocent digidestined….and I didn't think of it! For another…" he shrugged. "I dunno. I'm impressed, but you'd better let him go after you're done."

"Of course," Mercurymon chuckled. "What do you think we are? Bad guys?"

"You know, I almost liked you better when you talked with "thee's" and "thou's" and all," Agunimon sighed, pointing at the Warrior of Steel accusingly. "What made you decide to stop anyway?"

"I decided it got boring," Mercurymon answered simply. "It reminds me too much of being evil…and that brings up too many unpleasant memories. It was difficult to change, but I've gotten used to it now."

"Uh huh." Agunimon rolled his eyes. "I still find it weird sometimes. It's like you're not really you."

"I am," Mercurymon stated dully. "Now are you done throwing out useless comments, or are you going to continue? We have some business to attend to that requires your absence."

"At least you still use big words," Agunimon grinned.

"LEAVE," Ranamon groaned. "We're in the middle of a prank here! Go pick on Lobomon or something! I head he's biomerged with Kouji."

"Oh yeah," Agunimon exclaimed. "Me and Takuya were going to try that, but he got busy at the Inn so we put it off! I have to go meet him! Catch ya later, trouble makers!" he grinned and ran out the cave. "I'm excited to see your big prank. Maybe it might even rival mine!" he cackled, then ran out of sight.

The other legendary warriors stared at the door in uncertainty, then glanced at each other.

"I think he only wanted us to know that he's got something big up his sleeve planned for us," Ranamon groaned. "And that's not all either. Now he knows about our prank, and he's going to mess it up as best he can!"

"But of course," Mercurymon stated. He turned and stared at Cody in the crystal bubble. "That's where the second stage of the prank comes in." he smirked widely. "Are you three ready?"

"Me as ready as me ever be," Grumblemon grinned.

"Might as well get it over with," Arbormon sighed.

"I was born ready, darling," Ranamon smirked.

"Well then?" Mercurymon turned back to them. "Let's get moving."

(------------)

What do they have planned? Don't you wish you knew? Haha! Too bad you'll have to wait for next time!

And yes, Mercurymon is the only one who doesn't talk like he does in the show, because it reminds him too much of being evil. And cause I don't want to write that way. Arbormon doesn't talk with that Chicago accent either, cause he thinks its dumb, and it reminds him of being an evil thug too much. When he's not evil, like right now, he talks normally. Ranamon doesn't have a Southern accent, but she still calls people sugar and stuff cause she feels like it. And Grumblemon still uses "me" instead of "I" because he wants to. lol.

This is my story so I'll do it however I want. lol. Sorry if you think it's dumb. But it would be dumber if I tried to do all their accents. I'm just trying to make a distinct difference between them when they are good, and them when they are bad. Right now they are good. Hence? No annoying accents.

**Okay I have some important things to tell you! So please read this or you will miss out!**

**_You, my reviewers, are the ones who decide who is going to win this epic battle_**. How do you do that? Well I'll tell you. Every time you give me a character to focus on, (like when you win the review contest, or you just say who you want to see more of), that character gets either assassinated or assassinates his target on the next chapter. That means that I look to see who you guys want me to write about, then I write about them in the next chapter. And when I write about them, they either get killed, or they kill someone. That is, unless I have something big planned, and they don't kill or get killed, they just get mentioned. So by the process of elimination, you are deciding who is going to win this game.

I don't know who will win. It's all up to you. Who do you want me to focus on? Who do you want me to write about? Whatever you decide, it happens. And whoever you pick, they either get into a thicker plot, or they get killed off. I decide that part, but you are deciding who is getting picked off or picked in. Does that make sense?

So it's up to you who wins this game, up to you and your reviews. If you don't review, you don't get to play a role in this game. If you do, your choice of character is taken very seriously. So what are you doing? Review! I know that there are hundreds more people reading this story than there are reviewing it.

My second big note:

Just to let you know that the review contest is on for EVERY CHAPTER. That means that you write the review I like best, and the prize is that you get to pick a character and something they say or do. The winners of last chapter can not win this chapter. Make sense? You should know the drill by now.

So Happy Easter everyone! And enjoy your week! God bless you all!

Review!

Rika195


	7. Chapter 7

**Assassins-----------------chapter 7**

Hey peoples.

You may have noticed that Lobomon is different than he might normally be portrayed. I was hoping someone would. (Kudos to Tanith). You see, when Lobomon was actually just Kouji with a spirit, he acted like Kouji. Why? Cause Kouji WAS Lobomon. Duh! However, we don't actually KNOW how Lobomon REALLY acts, so that means I got to decide! Hence, I made Agunimon a prankster, Lobomon a mischief maker who manages to pin everything on Agunimon, and everyone else however I wanted. Also, they are super excited to have the digidestined come to the digital world, so they are all out of whack you might say. They are all being reckless. Even Mercurymon! So if they seem different to you, that's cause they are.

Lol. Anyway, I am having way too much fun with this story.

Big thanks to these awesome reviewers: **KARASU25, TerrorizingTaiora11, onlyIcanRULEtheWORLDlikeIdo, Tristar, Morgana LeFaye, CrestOfHealing, Rael-Lirdu**, and **black peeches**.

You guys are the ones who decide the fate of this story, with your awesome reviews. Keep it up! They were all really good, and really honest and I appreciated them all. It was hard to chose a winner. You all rock!

**Winner of the Review Contest**: **Tristar**! Congratulations! Your review was so awesome! Keep it up! I hope you enjoy this chapter!

**Prize**: the character: Junpei (JP); the action: searching for his bag of cheetos; the phrase: "WHO TOOK MY CHEETOS?"

(Read the end notes of this chapter to see the details on the Review Contest. It looks like you guys need reminding how to go about it. Lol. The Review Contest is STILL GOING! So read below if you want some hints on how you could win!)

(------------)

**Note**: For those who are biomerged, the digidestined speaks in _italics,_ the digimon speaks in **bold**, and both together speak in **_bold and italics_**.

**Second Note:** An Assassin can ONLY kill the target on his card. He can NOT kill the person who is out to kill him. He can only NEUTRALIZE them. Hence, when Henry shot Ken, he did NOT assassinate him, he NEUTRALIZED him for an hour. Okay? Read the Rules again. And don't forget it.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Cheetos, Digimon or Assassins. But I've discovered that the game Assassins has been a tradition at my college for many, many years, and every single dorm gets its chance to play.

**Suggestion**: This game would be fun to play with your Youth Group or College or Neighborhood. It lasts all week, and you go about your normal business, and yet still try to assassinate your target. It's one of the only "Ultimate" games that is actually Ultra to the limit! I encourage you all to try it sometime. Maybe at Camp, or school, or Vacation, etc. Introduce this awesome game into YOUR world of friends and family!

(------------)

**In the Forest, 11:00 AM**

JP spun in circles, his eyes scanning the ground desperately. He couldn't understand what had happened to the bag of cheetos that he had hidden in his pocket for such as an occasion as this one. Yes, he had eaten breakfast this morning with Takuya and someone else, and yes it was a good filling breakfast, far better than most of the meals he'd eaten last time he came to the digital world, but he was desperately in the mood for munching on something, and cheetos seemed like the perfect snack. But here he was, searching the forest for the very bag of cheetos that occupied his entire mind. It had disappeared from sight, when the last thing he remembered was having them in his pocket. Or had he set them down somewhere?

"Okay this is starting to bug me," he groaned, starting to sweat from both the exercise of looking for the cheetos and the frustration at not being able to find them. "Either I ate the whole bag and threw it out without remembering it, or someone stole them!" He crossed his arms and took several deep breathes. He was sure that someone had taken them, and the only question now was who. "WHO TOOK MY CHEETOS?" he screamed, his voice echoing all around him in the forest and getting absorbed into the trees. He got absolutely no answer, and figured he'd have to figure it out on his own.

He thought back to all the different digidestined that were here. Which one of them was most likely to take them? It had to have been a guy, because all the girls did not seem like the types to steal his cheetos as a mean trick. And of the guys, it had to be in the group that was his own age. Perhaps that Kazu kid, who had numerous times mentioned how he was always hungry, and would probably eat all day if he could get away with it. Yes, JP thought, it had to have been Kazu.

"If I lay my hands on that guy, he's going to regret it," JP complained, getting more and more upset with each passing second. His was so wrapped up in his idea that Kazu had stolen and eaten his cheetos without a care, that he became lost in fury. How could Kazu have done that so heartlessly? Didn't he realize just how special cheetos were anyway? And for several minutes he stormed through the forest muttering things under his breath, stranded in his single-minded idea that he had jumped to…the conclusion that was probably only true in his mind. It was too bad he wasn't looking where he was going.

It was only after he found himself staring up at the huge, blue, metal, muscular body of Beetlemon that he remembered he was playing a huge game called Assassins, and didn't even know who was out to kill him. And so, instead of being excited to see his good friend that was like that missing part of himself, he squeaked and ran away at top speed.

He didn't stop running until he couldn't breath anymore, and was panting for breath in who-knew-what area of the forest. Then he chanced a look behind him and found that no one was there.

"What are you scared of?" Beetlemon asked, a definite smirk to his voice.

JP jumped and turned to look in front of him, and sure enough, Beetlemon was there. "Don't kill me!" he pleaded. "I can't run anymore!"

Beetlemon laughed loud and hard, and held out empty hands toward his human partner. "Hey no fear man," he laughed good-naturedly. "I'm not here to assassinate you. And anyway, we'd need a witness for that. I have Impmon, not you!"

JP stared at him suspiciously, still gripping his chest and breathing hard. "How do I know I can trust you?" he demanded. "Maybe I should neutralize you just in case…"

"You can if you want to, though it wouldn't make a difference. Only Impmon can neutralize me." Beetlemon chuckled and pulled out a notecard, presenting it to JP proudly. Impmon's name was clearly written on it. "See? Feel better now?"

JP sighed and nodded, wiping sweat off his brow. "You scared me to death," he snapped. "And someone stole my cheetos."

"What, THESE cheetos?" a voice JP did not recognize called.

JP and Beetlemon froze, staring at each other blankly. Then they turned around. An innocent little digimon stared up at them with large questioning eyes. He was blue and white, with large red eyes and an adorable smile. In his tiny hands he held up an unopened bag of cheetos in JP's direction.

JP blinked several times, frozen by the image of the little digimon with his bag of cheetos. He couldn't even figure out what to think.

"Are they not yours?" the digimon asked, looking confused. "Cause if they're not, I'll eat em…."

"No!" JP yelled, running forward. He knelt down and took the bag offered to him, then patted the little digimon's head. "You are so nice! Wherever did you find them?"

"I saw them next to a tree, and I took them cause they were all lonely. And we had a great conversation!" the digimon grinned happily. "But then I heard you yelling for them, so I hurried to find you. But my legs are small." He glanced down at his legs, and blushed childishly. "When I found you, you started running. It took me a while to catch up."

"But you found me again, and I'm very glad you did!" JP picked up the little digimon and hugged him tightly. "You're the best! What's your name? Is there anything I can do to pay you back?" He ignored Beetlemon's chuckles in the background.

"Sure!" the digimon cried. "My name is DemiVeemon, and you can GET ASSASSINATED!!!!" He pulled out a watergun out of nowhere and squirted JP with water in the face. Then he burst into an evil cackle to rival that of Lucemon's.

JP just stood there. He couldn't do anything else. He didn't even blink when someone walked up, smirking triumphantly.

"God job DemiVeemon," the newcomer taunted. He pulled out a digivice, and DemiVeemon digivolved to Veemon and leapt triumphantly out of JP's arms. "That was very clever."

"Why thank you, Davis!" Veemon grinned and waved JP's notecard in his hand. He had swiped it from JP's pocket, just as he had swiped the cheetos. "It was my pleasure!"

"So you're the one everyone's so worked up about," Beetlemon sighed, shaking his head at Davis. JP turned to stare at him, then back at Davis and Veemon. His shock was quickly turning to frustration. "I'm guessing the reason you're so good at this game is because of trickery and guile. Very dishonorable, I'd say."

Davis laughed, a cackle that seemed to grate on JP's nerves like nails on a chalkboard. There was something gloatingly sinister about it. "My dear Beetlemon," he said, surprising JP with the knowledge of Beetlemon's name. "That is the entire point of this game. Stealth, guile, stalking, and trickery. It's the honest ones who go first." He cackled and walked off, waving goodbye to them. "Have fun!"

Then he was gone, vanished into the forest as hauntingly as he had appeared. JP's face twitched, and he clenched his bag of cheetos in his hand angrily. "That guy better not win," he growled. "And I'm going to make sure he doesn't!"

"Good," Beetlemon drew out the word suspiciously. "Cause I want to win. And I don't like how he said my name like he knew who was coming for me. It makes me very suspicious."

"We need a plan," JP clenched harder, then gasped as the bag of cheetos burst open and sprayed all the cheetos all over the forest floor. He let out a devastated cry, and then screamed in frustration. What a lousy ending to a lousy assassination!

(------------)

**In the Forest, 11:10 AM**

"Oh look! There's Gabumon!" Kazu pointed excitedly to the clearing, where Gabumon was talking in private to his partner Matt. Kazu grinned and rubbed his hands together, then slapped Kenta's back. "It's perfect! We both go up to him, and because there are too many witnesses, he wont suspect us. Then you close your eyes, and I'll shoot Gabumon! Got it?"

"So that's why you wanted to work as a team?" Kenta frowned. He tried to rub his back, but his hand couldn't quite reach.

"Yeah! I overheard Davis talking to Ken about it, but Ken refused. He said something about wanting to work on his own. I think working in a whole group is better, cause you're all safe, and you can plan your assassinations and all!" Kazu smiled proudly. "My eavesdropping skills are pretty good don't you think? Davis was talking about it being one of the most fool-proof strategies for beating the game! And from what I hear about the guy, he knows what he's talking about!"

"Hey Kazu?" Kenta asked, a puzzled look on his face. "Have you realized who we're playing this game with?"

"Yeah, other digidestined. No biggie." Kazu shrugged and concentrated on Gabumon again, probably planning out a crazy assassination plan.

"No Kazu…think about it. Tai, Izzy, Matt, Davis, Kari…recognize those names?"

"Course I do."

Kenta stared patiently at Kazu, waiting for the information to click. Eventually it did.

"Hang on a second….these are the guys from the TV show that first got us hooked to the digimon card game!" Kazu gasped, his mouth dropping open and his eyes opening wide. "That means that the whole TV show was real! These guys really exist! They probably had such a hard time trying to blend in! Man! All this time and we didn't even know it!" He clapped his hands together and shook his head. "Kenta my friend, we are going to get autographs when this is over!"

"What are you talking about? We're digidestined too, so we're legit." Kenta rolled his eyes. "We don't need autographs cause we're just as famous as they are…or we would be if the Government didn't turn the whole thing into a big "TV hoax" thing or whatever. So we don't need autographs."

"But think about it Kenta! These guys are the ORIGINAL digidestined! They were the TV show we grew up with! These guys are like our idols!"

"Role-models maybe, but not idols."

"You get the picture!" Kazu rolled his eyes, frustrated.

Kenta sighed, then pointed to Gabumon. "Let's worry about it later. Are we going to assassinate him or not?"

"We are," Kazu nodded. He grinned and dashed out, dragging Kenta with him. "And I've got the perfect excuse!" He dashed up to Matt, a cheesy grin on his face. "Hey there Matt!" he said cheerfully. "You're THE Yamato Ishida, right?"

Matt just stared at him blankly.

"Meaning you're the guy from the TV show….one of the first digidestined ever….right?" Kazu persisted. Beside him, Kenta seemed to catch on.

"Obviously," Matt stated dully. "What's up?"

"Well I was hoping you could give me an autograph?" Kazy pulled out a piece of tissue and pen, and handed them to Matt eagerly. Kenta groaned out loud and walked away. Perfect. As soon as the tissue and pen were in the confused Matt's hands, Kazu whipped out his gun and squirted Gabumon in the face. He then took the tissue and pen back. "Actually nevermind, I'll get it later. But thanks!" He winked, then dashed after Kenta, cackling like a madman.

"How'd it go?" Kenta asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Perfect!"

"You forgot something."

"I did?" Kazu glanced back, then suddenly remembered the card. "Oops." He ran at Gabumon full speed, then held out his hand. "Card please?"

Gabumon stared at him with an irked expression. After a few moments, he handed his card over. "Whatever," he sighed.

"Thank you!" Kazu grabbed it and bowed his head to both digimon and partner. "Nice ta see ya!" He turned and ran off, reveling in their mildly confused expressions. "Next up, the kid named Tommy!"

"And I've got Gatomon," Kenta sighed. "Let's get to work! You have a full extra 24 hours, but I've got to do mine today."

"Then let's go!" Kazu dragged Kenta off at top speed. This game was awesome!

(------------)

**In the Forest, 11:20 AM**

"Well that was…" Matt sighed and rolled his eyes. "Stupid I guess is the right word." He patted Gabumon's head. "They're just idiots anyway."

"Yeah but I didn't even try to play the game. And you're not either! We need to be prepared for anything! Isn't this game supposed to last the whole week?" Gabumon frowned and scratched his head, clearly irritated that he had been assassinated so soon. "We need to play our hardest till we either win or get killed. So let's stop sitting around! They'll be time for that later!"

"You're right," Matt sighed. He smiled at his partner and stood up. "Let's go find Kouji, my target. I have a feeling he's going to be hard to get. We'll need a strategy."

"I agree. And…" Gabumon stopped talking, his mouth half open. "Matt…..Davis is over there. I smell him."

"Davis? What does he want?" Matt made a face, clearly annoyed. Davis had self-appointed himself to be Matt's worst nightmare a couple years back, and had done everything possible to pull random pranks on him and get all of Matt's reactions on tape. And to top it all off, it seemed that Matt could not do anything without Davis knowing about it. "The stupid stalker. This game is perfect for him."

"Stalker?"

"He always knows where I'm going so that he can play pranks on me! He's everywhere!"

"He stalks you?" Gabumon made a horrified face.

"Well…" Matt sighed. Alright, it wasn't entirely the truth. "No….he just always decides to pick on me when everyone else is around. He doesn't even go out of his way to bother me, he just does it whenever I happen to see him. It still feels like all the time though." Matt growled angrily. "Stupid jerk."

"How often do you happen to see him?" Gabumon persisted. The expression on his face clearly screamed that he was deciding on whether or not to rip Davis to pieces.

Matt sighed. Although he wouldn't mind seeing Davis get beat up by Gabumon, he still felt a little guilty. "3 to 4 times a week, if he comes over to visit TK. Mostly less than that."

"And….is he stalking you at all?"

"Well…..no." Matt sighed. "It just feels like it."

Gabumon gave up, grumbling. "Well if I think he's getting too annoying, allow me to teach him a lesson or two."

"I'll allow it." Matt smirked. "So where is the little twerp right now?"

"Right there…" Gabumon pointed, and sure enough, Davis was making his way toward them….alone.

"What do you want Davis?" Matt yelled. He stuck his hand in his pocket and gripped his watergun tightly, waiting to see what Davis would do.

"Nothing much," Davis chuckled. It was the evil chuckle, the one that said he had something big up his sleeves. "I just wanted to tell you something."

"If it's about my assassination, then you're not lucking out this time buddy," Matt growled, as Davis came closer. "Cause I'm ready for you."

"I'm sure you are, but I have a very important proposition for you." Davis stopped about six feet away, smiling confidently at Matt and Gabumon. The two returned glares at him. "It's about your assassination, of course. I'm here to offer you an option."

"An option huh?" Matt rolled his eyes. "Like I even want to hear it?"

"Oh….you might."

Matt froze, a glare plastered on his face. Something about Davis' tone did not bode well. "What do you mean?" he demanded. "Explain."

"Only this: Either you let me assassinate you now with no hassle, or you'll get a much bigger 'surprise' assassination later." Davis shrugged casually, the evil gleam still sparkling in his eyes. "And by big, I mean big enough for everyone to be talking about it for years to come."

Matt coughed. It was the only way to get the power of speech to come back. "You sound so evil when you say that. If I didn't know better, I'd think you were a bad guy."

"In this game, everyone is."

"You take this game too seriously."

Davis laughed out loud. "Oh Matt……what is the fun in NOT taking it seriously? Is there any fun at all?"

Matt found he couldn't really argue. But he wasn't about to just give up because he was afraid of what Davis might pull on his later. "You're stupid if you think I'm going to just give up. No way!" He pulled out his watergun and neutralized Davis. "You just gave me a heads up that might help me win the game! Now get out of here, you stupid goggle-head!"

Davis chuckled and walked away, a smug look of satisfaction on his face. "I was hoping you'd say that," he cackled. He walked calmly until he was out of sight, leaving Matt and Gabumon with an uneasy feeling in their stomachs.

"Stupid Davis," Matt grumbled. "He can't scare me."

Gabumon blinked, and glanced at Matt. "Um….I think he just did."

Matt whacked his partner on the head, then turned and began to walk. "Let's find Kouji okay? And just….be quiet. Davis is NOT going to win this game!"

Gabumon chuckled, shook his head, and followed. Matt was still Matt.

(------------)

**In TK's Room, 11:30 AM**

TK burst through the door, his face flustered and accompanied by a serious look of confusion and worry. He almost didn't seem to notice the two girls sitting impatiently on his bed. Hurriedly, he slammed the door shut and ran a hand through his hair.

"What in the digital world took you so long?" Yolei exclaimed, throwing her hands in the air with indignation. "We've been waiting here for HALF AN HOUR!" She crossed her arms and glared daggers at TK, huffing furiously. "I'm ready to beat you up if you don't have a good excuse!"

Kari frowned slightly, but not for the same reasons as Yolei. Although she had been increasingly growing upset by TK's lack of presence for the past half-hour, she was now more upset by the expression on TK's face. She stood up and walked toward him. "What is it?" she asked. "What's wrong?"

TK glanced at her, an unreadable expression flickering through his eyes for a fraction of a second. Then he sighed. "It's Cody," he stated, stepping away from the door and going to the window. He opened it expertly, and Patamon flew in and landed on his head.

"Cody?" Kari persisted. She still stood in the middle of the room, watching him. Gatomon and Hawkmon were both in the room, Hawkmon on the floor beside Yolei, and Gatomon lying lazily on the bed.

"Yes. I wanted Cody to join our group." TK closed the window and made a dreadfully serious face. "He's missing."

"Missing?" Yolei's face changed dramatically, and she gasped. "Did you ask Izzy where he is?"

"Yes," TK crossed his arms. "Izzy was talking to Tai when I got in. Apparently, Cody's signal has been turned off, and at the last moment it was still on, it said that Cody was far from the Forest Village. Izzy even thought that it was coming from the other side of the world."

"The other side of the world?" Kari frowned. "But what would he be doing there? What did Armadillomon say?"

"That Cody vanished from sight. I think he's been kidnapped."

"Oh no," Yolei placed a hand over her mouth. "And here we thought we were just playing a game….We have to find him, TK!"

"I know…Izzy is doing everything he can. He's already sent Agunimon to go find him. I think it's going be okay." TK did not look reassured by his own words, and he went to sit on the bed next to Yolei. "It's been suggested that we just worry about playing the game."

"Well that's annoying," Yolei complained. "What about Cody?"

"I think that the Legendary Warriors can figure it out, and if they can't, there are a ton of digidestined here with their partners who can set things right," Kari said firmly. She walked over and smiled at them both. "Cody will be found, you'll see! He'll be alright. I have a strange feeling that everything will work out fine, and that he wont be hurt."

"You have a strange feeling? I want facts, not feelings!" Yolei glared at her.

"I'll take a feeling," TK offered a small smile. "If it's coming from Kari. She's usually right."

Kari nodded, and then crossed her arms. "Okay TK, what is the plan for winning this game?"

"Well…" TK sighed heavily. "First we have to decide which one of our targets we're going after, then surround them and corner them." He seemed to cheer up at the prospect of winning the game. "Then everyone but the assassin and their partner will close their eyes and close the eyes of all the other witnesses, and the assassin will get their target. Everything will happen faster than they can realize what's happening. Then we take their card and move on."

"Makes sense to me," Yolei decided. She frowned. "This is what you and Davis did last time you played?"

"Yeah. Davis was the leader, and he told us what to do and we followed him. Our group ended up being the only ones left in the game, and we all pitted our skills against each other. And Davis won."

"So we work together so we can fight each other in the end," Kari giggled. "I think we need to have some kind of agreement before we go into this, so that we all remain honest through all the deception."

"What kind of agreement?" TK asked, eyebrows raised in surprise. "We never had one. Davis insisted the game was all about trickery. And….it is…."

"I'll lay one out for you," Kari nodded. "We should promise to work together as a group, to protect each other from getting assassinated, to help us get all of our targets, to tell each other what our targets are so that even if we have someone in our group, we still know. That way, when we have to be against each other, we will all have the same knowledge as the other, and more equal odds. I say this agreement is important so that everything doesn't work together for the favor of only one of us."

"Wow, that sounded really political or something," Yolei smiled. "But I agree."

"Me too," TK nodded. "I wouldn't suggest this unless I meant all of that."

"And I do too," Hawkmon lifted his wing.

"And me," Patamon giggled from TK's head.

"And me," Gatomon purred. "Now let's whip out those cards and figure out who we've got!"

They all hurried to comply, so as not to waste any more of the day. They still had until midnight to make their hits, but they didn't want to wait till the day was over. As they extended their cards out for all to see, it turned out that TK had Kazemon, Patamon had Lowemon, Kari had Lopmon, Gatomon had Palmon, Yolei had Armadillomon, and Hawkmon had Cyberdramon.

The group blinked, staring at their notecards. "Hey, we all have digimon!" Patamon exclaimed. "That's funny!"

"Who do we go after first?" Gatomon asked, extending and retracting her claws over and over again. Her eyes glinted with excitement.

"How about Palmon?" TK grinned. "She and Mimi are just outside with Sora and Biyomon. Let's go put our plan into action and see how well it works!"

"Good idea," Gatomon pounced onto Kari. "Me and Kari will be the ones with our eyes open, while you guys close everyone else's eyes! Got it?"

"Yeah!" everyone cried. They made their way out the door and down the stairs, heading out to where the two older girls and their digimon were talking. Only TK lingered a moment longer, a distressed look upon his face, as he pondered what to do about poor Cody. But there wasn't anything they could do. He'd have to figure it out later.

(------------)

**Outside the Inn, 11:45 AM**

Mimi laughed, enjoying herself with Sora and Palmon and Biyomon. The sun was shining, and the day was nice, and Mimi had just finished a lovely breakfast. Now the only thing she needed was for her target Takuya to exit from the Inn.

She had a whole plan worked out. Sora and Biyomon were ready to close their eyes when he came out, so that Mimi could squirt him and have Palmon be her witness. It was all so perfect, that nothing could go wrong!

And then TK, Yolei, Kari, and their partners came rushing out.

Mimi was shocked at how they were running up to her, all of them talking at once. She couldn't even understand what they were saying. "What's going on here?" she demanded. Her eye was trained on the door of the Inn, waiting for Takuya. He should be out any minute! She didn't have time for all of these guys!

"Mimi," Yolei exclaimed, grabbing her. Mimi noticed that TK and Patamon had a hold of Sora and Biyomon. "Cody is missing! He's been kidnapped!"

Mimi's mind raced, a lead-weight seeming to fill her stomach. "What?" she demanded. She found her eyes being covered, and blurted out a few complaints. But suddenly, Yolei released her and stepped back.

"But don't worry, Agunimon is taking care of it," Yolei added, smiling innocently and taking a step backwards. "So….I just wanted to let you know."

Mimi blinked rapidly. What was going on here? Cody captured, Yolei blocking her eyes…..and now Palmon was complaining loudly about being assassinated. Wait…being assassinated?!?!?! Mimi found her mouth gaping wide. "You…you fiends!" she exclaimed, pointing at the group of digidestined. She found that Sora was carrying the same expression of indignation. "You planned that so that Palmon could be assassinated! That's just LOW!"

"No, it's Assassins," TK shrugged guiltily. He smirked and patted Palmon on the head. "Sorry about that."

Mimi crossed her arms, completely miffed. She didn't even know which one of Kari or Gatomon had done it, but she had to admit it was cleverly done. Almost like Mimi's strategy to get Takuya. Oh! She gasped and turned to look at the Inn, wondering if she had missed him. But all she could see was the kid named Kazu running into the Inn at top speed.

"I'll be right back," he called over his shoulder at the kid named Kenta, who just leaned against a tree patiently. Then he vanished into the Inn.

Then, to Mimi's great relief, Takuya finally came out. He walked out the door with an occupied expression on his face, as if he wasn't even aware of where he was going. But he made his way toward Kenta with steady steps. Mimi glanced around, noticing that TK's entire group, plus Sora and Biyomon, were all enraptured in a conversation, probably about Cody. They were not even looking or paying any attention to anything else. It was perfect. Mimi gripped the gun in her hand and began to walk forward, deciding that Kenta could be the witness. But she had to act quickly, or the opportunity would be lost!

Suddenly, she and Kenta and Takuya were all there, staring at each other, and everything seemed to happen at once.

Kenta seemed to realize that he was about to be assassinated by someone, and pulled out his gun.

Takuya snapped out of his occupied act and pulled out his gun to point at Kenta.

Mimi lifted her gun and pointed it determinedly at Takuya.

And then the water flew.

Takuya squirted Kenta, whose stream of water missed Takuya when the water made contact with his eyes. Then Takuya bolted around the tree. Mimi's stream of water met thin air, and she stared in shock at the place where Takuya had been a moment ago. But she was not done yet. Furious she started squirting at him, running at him as he tried to run away. Kenta watched with a curious and fascinated expression, as if he couldn't believe what was happening. And it truly was bizarre to behold.

Time after time Mimi squirted at Takuya, who ran in circles through the trees toward the safety of the inn. Then he noticed the group of people who still continued to ignore them. They were his last chance. He dashed for them at top speed, Mimi trailing after.

But Mimi was not going to let him get away from her. With a desperate throw, she tossed her purse at his feet, smirking with satisfaction when he tripped on it and landed briefly on his hands and knees. It was just enough time for Mimi to come up to him and squirt him with water, panting like she'd run a marathon.

"There," she gasped. "You've been assassinated!" She held her stomach and laughed. "Card please?"

Takuya panted as well, and turned to give her an amused expression. "You're good," he laughed. "But, you're going to have to ask Kenta for his card, since I just assassinated him."

"Oh yeah," Mimi giggled. She held out her hand, and Takuya took it, pulling himself up to his feet and brushing himself off. "You okay?" she grabbed her purse and brushed it off.

"Yeah," Takuya grinned. "Just shocked at my own failure."

"Oh well. I'll probably not get this lucky again," Mimi said, as the two of them walked up to Kenta. Mimi held out her hand to the black-haired youth expectantly. "Card please?"

Kenta shook his head, bewilderment on his face. "That was worth watching, even if I had to get assassinated to see it," he grinned. He handed his card to Mimi. "Have fun. I hope you win." The expression on his face said that he meant it.

Mimi grinned, extremely encouraged, and bent and kissed him on the top of his head. "You're sweet," she said, enjoying his blush. Then she patted Takuya's head and walked back toward Palmon, who was in an argument with Gatomon. "I hope you have fun this week!"

The two boys stared at her, then stared at each other. But Mimi ignored them, staring instead at her new target card. The name written across it was "Gatomon." Mimi grinned. "Perfect," she giggled. Gatomon was right in front of her. "Time to use a little method I'd like to call 'kidnapping', I think," she said, walking towards the group with a purposeful walk. It would be easy. All she had to do was….

(------------)

…And that's all for this chapter. Sorry. I hope you enjoyed it!

So, here are a couple important notes that I seem to have to keep repeating. The Review Contest is going to be happening EVERY CHAPTER, until I say it isn't. That means, you have to write the review that I like best, and you get to win a prize. I'm sure you've figured out the prize by now, right? You get to choose a character and a phrase, and I will put them in the story.

But if you would like to know some good tips on how to win this review contest, here they are: First, you have to understand that you guys help to decide who wins this story just by telling me which CHARACTERS you want to see more of. So if you want to see more of a character, please don't hesitate to tell me. Putting down the names of the characters you'd like to see more of is nice. Also, if you think that I have written a certain character OOC, then you should TELL ME! That can score you big points on this contest. I need to know your opinion. Being HONEST about what you think, and about how you think it could IMPROVE. Another thing I love is RANDOMNESS and SILLINESS, and just being YOURSELF. I love reviews that talk about the chapter, to indicate that you have actually read it. And...no swearing. I don't accept it or appreciate it. So please don't do it in your reviews.

Now, just because I am saying all this DOES NOT mean that you have to do all that! That would be like me telling you how to write YOUR review. And that's just silly. You can put whatever you want, even tell me it sucks if you feel like it. I just want to hear from you. But the best way to win is by using the tips up above….and also, most of those tips will help you to be a valuable reviewer to other authors besides myself. Writing good reviews is a practice everyone should learn.

**So don't be afraid of being critical, or telling me which romance you think should be featured, or whether you think it should really be Izzy's Mom or just a fake, or what character you hope to see assassinated next, and what not. It's not going to happen if I don't know you want it to!**

So…..until next time……REVIEW!

And God bless you all!

Rika195


	8. Chapter 8

**Assassins-----------------chapter 8**

(Hey peoples. Sorry I took so long! I've been so busy and tied up lately. Or rather, for a long time. So I'm sorry!)

* * *

Big thanks to all my awesome reviewers: 

**black peeches**

**tazkol the master of emerald**

**Tristar**

**CrestOfHealing**

**Rael-Lirdu**

**TerrorizingTaiora11**

**TrialAndError123456**

**Tremble Wolf**

**LOLA**

**Matt**

**ang5523**

(wow, my biggest load yet!)

You guys are the ones who decide the fate of this story, with your awesome reviews. Not me, YOU. Your reviews determine who gets picked off or who gets closer to the goal. So keep it up! The more things you tell me you want to see, the more exciting this story is going to be. Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews, and how you each take time to tell me in your own words what you think. It means a lot to me, and I will reply to all your reviews personally, as I have always done. Thank you! Keep it up!

* * *

**Winner of the Review Contest**: CrestOfHealing! (who writes awesome reviews AND likes Star Wars! Hehe)

**Prize**: The character Takato, and the line "What's this I hear about cheese curds?"

Wow people, what is with all the cheese lines anyway? Haha! It's like the Assassins Inside Joke or something. It's Tradition now. Speaking of traditions, I guess this story has two. There's a review contest every chapter, and there's always a line that has something to do with cheese. Weird. I have some awesomely hyper reviewers. Anyway…

Congratulations Child Of Healing! And everyone else, do your best! There is always a chance to win!

* * *

**Note**: For those who are biomerged, the digidestined speaks in _italics,_ the digimon speaks in **bold**, and both together speak in _**bold and italics**_.

**Second Note:** The Assassin can only assassinate their target, not the person who is out to assassinate them. They can, however, neutralize the person out to get them for an hour. In other words, if someone is neutralized, it does NOT mean they were assassinated. The two words mean two different things. PLEASE remember that this time.

**Disclaimer**: I do not own Digimon or Assassins. But I've discovered that the game Assassins has been a tradition at my college for many, many years, and every single dorm gets its chance to play.

**Suggestion**: This game would be fun to play with your Youth Group or College or Neighborhood. It lasts all week, and you go about your normal business, and yet still try to assassinate your target. It's one of the only "Ultimate" games that is actually Ultra to the limit! I encourage you all to try it sometime. Maybe at Camp, or school, or Vacation, etc. Introduce this awesome game into YOUR world of friends and family!

* * *

_**Now let's begin... **_

(------------)

**In The Forest, 12:00 pm**

"And……that's about it," Takato finished, shrugging his shoulders.

Guilmon stared at him with blinking eyes, and then smiled a toothy smile. "Takatomon lives just like normal!" he exclaimed. "Your life is boring! It never changes! You need Guilmon around!"

Takato chuckled, and ruffled his friend's head. "You know I do," he said casually. "But there you have it: the full update on my boring life."

"It's not _so_boring," Jeri fluttered her eyelids flirtatiously at him.

Takato seemed to lose concentration of everything around him, and just stared at her blankly. Anyone could tell that he was just smitten when it came to Jeri, and that for her to tease him like that left him in a state of shock or something.

Leomon chuckled, then leaned over to whisper in Jeri's ear. "Don't tease him like that," he teased, loud enough for Takato to hear him. "You're making him get lost in your dazzling eyes."

Takato blushed, blinked, then turned his head away. He didn't really have anything to say, considering that was exactly what he was thinking.

"Hey! Takato!"

Takato turned in surprise, hearing a voice that was familiar and yet…not familiar at all. He frowned, seeing someone run up to him. Could it be who he thought it was? "Ryo?" he blurted, his eyes widening. "Ryo, no way! It's you! Where have you been all these years?"

Ryo laughed and gave Takato a hug, a hug hard enough to crack his back and squeeze the air out of him. "Takato it's been way too long!" Ryo exclaimed, releasing Takato from his hug and whacking him on the back.

Takato coughed, rubbed his back, and offered a smile in return. "Sheesh Ryo, your hug is hard enough to bring tears to my eyes!"

"Oh…." Ryo grinned sheepishly. "Sorry."

"Man….you've really changed! What's it been? Four years?" Takato shook his head in amazement. "Or longer? I think the last time I saw you was when we said good-bye to our digimon after our last battle! Where did you run off to?"

"Oh…uh…" Ryo scratched his head, looking rather nervous, then shrugged apologetically. "Actually….I came back here."

"HERE?" Takato gave Ryo an open-mouthed expression of jealousy. "No fair! What did you do here? How come you didn't tell any of us!?"

"Well it's kind of complicated," Ryo admitted, still scratching his head. He started walking, slowly, as if to escape or something, but Takato and Guilmon walked right next to him. "You're not going to let me get out of this one are you?" Ryo teased.

"No way! Talk!" Takato grinned and crossed his arms, unaware that he was being led away from the others and into the forest. "What were you doing here?"

"Well, Cyberdramon and I have been training. Just fighting and stuff, and protecting the digital worlds from things that could turn into world-wide catastrophes and stuff." Ryo shrugged, glancing over his shoulder at Leomon and Jeri behind him. He could see Cyberdramon giving him the signal that he was ready to go. Ryo gave a small nod, and kept talking to Takato. "Then, some dude named Lucemon that was in the core of the digital world somehow gained enough power to get rid of us, and had some digimon send us into a different dimension." Ryo laughed, remembering how many adventures he'd had over the years. "Things like that kept happening. But it's all good. We've had fun."

"Wait, different dimension?" Takato made a confused face. "What are you talking about?"

"Um….Cyberdramon and I went to several different dimensions and stuff. I can't possibly explain it all. But basically we've gone on millions of adventures, and fought several foes. And now…we're back here in the digital world. And honestly, I'm happy to be here. And even happier to be a part of this game Assassins. It's awesome!" Ryo grinned happily. "So what about you? What have you been up to?"

Takato threw his arms open wide, in an expression of exasperation. "NOTHING compared to you! I've been living a normal life! Going to school, baking in the bakery, and other stuff. Honestly, it's not been that much."

"Sure it has! We've all got stories to tell!" Ryo elbowed his friend and chuckled to himself. Any second now…..

"CHEESE CURDS!" Leomon roared.

His outburst caught Takato and Guilmon's attention, and they turned to stare back at their companions they'd left behind in shock and confusion. "What the heck?" Takato blurted. He started running, Guilmon and Ryo close behind him, skidded to a stop four feet away from Jeri and her partner, and gaped in surprise at the two of them. "What's this I hear about cheese curds?" He wasn't sure how else to phrase the question, being faced with such an odd scene.

Leomon gave a great growl and sighed loudly. "Nothing," he snapped, and then ended up chuckling. "It's just something I say when I'm upset." He rubbed his face with his hand, and mumbled something under his breath about Cyberdramon.

"Why do you say cheese curds?" Takato insisted. "That's just….weird."

"I like cheese," Guilmon smiled. "Do cheese curds taste good?"

"Enough about the cheese curds!" Leomon roared. "It's better than swearing, okay? Forget I said anything!"

"Why would you be swearing?" Takato frowned. "What's happened?"

"It's this _freak._He assassinated me." Leomon indicated Cyberdramon with his giant paw, and gave the silent digimon a scowl. "And I didn't even sense him coming."

Takato blinked in surprise, was about to comment on Cuberdramon probably having some kind of special ability, when something occurred to him. He turned to Ryo. "You….you distracted me!" he said, pointing at the now grinning old friend.

"Guilty as charged," Ryo answered. He patted Takato on the shoulder. "Sorry pal. It was fun, though!" He walked over to his partner Cyberdramon and jumped onto his back. "Better go find my target, I guess." He waved to Takato as Cyberdramon leapt into the air and left the scene dramatically.

Takato stared at the sky where they vanished, then shook his head in both appreciation and annoyance. "Talk about cheese curds," he mumbled. "The words I'd choose to say are 'dang, he's good.'"

Jeri giggled and poked his shoulder. "That's just as bad," she pointed out.

Takato grinned. "At least it doesn't sound as stupid."

Leomon glared at him, but soon joined them in chuckling. It was a pretty odd situation. "I guess this shows that we'd better get serious about the game, doesn't it?" he said.

Jeri nodded. "And you'll protect me, right?"

"As long as we don't separate, no one can assassinate us," Takato said with a sigh. "And I realize now how hard that's actually going to be."

(------)

_Superfluous. A word which here means, I just watched the movie A Series of Unfortunate Events, and I wanted to mention something about it. In which case, "superfluous" describes the entire last sentence. "Something extra that was not needed." And now that I've had my little superfluous writing splurge, I can continue with my story._

(------)

**Outside the Inn, 12:05 pm**

It was a strange coincidence, but it seemed to Rika that 90 percent of the players of this strangely exhilarating game called Assassins, liked to hang out right next to the Inn, instead of going around in the forest or the town nearby. Why that was, Rika was not entirely sure, but it seemed that if she ever had to look for her target, her best chance was to look around the inn. So that was where she was hiding at the moment, up in a tree where she could see everything.

Several digidestined milled around, talking with each other, sharing news and stories, and excitedly hanging out with their digimon partners. A few individuals here and there complained and laughed about being assassinated already, and promised their friends they'd stick close and help them out. It was a boringly touching situation.

"Please," Rika sighed, rolling her eyes. "Just get on with the game already! All these losers have 24 hours to either assassinate their target, or get eliminated. And what do they do? Stand around and talk. They can do that AFTER they're dead!" She groaned and crossed her arms. This whole situation was stupid.

But it was only a few minutes later that Rika began to realize how valuable it was to sit tight and listen to all the conversations, as the very person she was trying to assassinate was mentioned in a conversation below.

"Hey Mimi, have you seen Biyomon?" Sora asked, looking around her in mild surprise. "I thought she was just here a second ago…"

"Oh yeah…" Mimi giggled. "Some other digimon was whispering at her, so she snuck off to go talk to him. I think somebody's got a boyfriend!"

Sora raised her eyebrows. "What? Really? Maybe it was just…"

"I know what I saw, Sora! He was a boy Biyomon! And he was cute!"

Rika tuned out the rest of the conversation and looked around with interest, then glanced down at her slip of paper that read "Biyomon." She smirked. This was too easy. She slipped out of her hiding place and stole into the woods, looking around for any sign of the bird digimon. Of course, she would have to make sure she shot the right Biyomon, or else everything would be messed up. But she was Rika! She wouldn't mess up.

"_**Going somewhere?**_"

Rika whirled around, finding herself face to face with a tall, wolf-like digimon. Her eyes narrowed, and as quickly as she could, she whipped out her water gun and shot, not noticing whether it hit or not. "Neutralized!" she declared, just in case.

The digimon chuckled._**"Aw…that's too bad, isn't it? Looks like you missed, tough girl." **_He squirted her on the stomach._** "I think you'll find you've just been assassinated." **_

Rika's eyes widened. How could She have missed? "What?" she blurted, growing angry. "How did…How could….Why didn't I hit you?"

The digimon shrugged._**"I'm the legendary warrior of light. I move faster than you can shoot." **_

"Yeah? Well….Who's the witness?" Rika demanded. "There's no one around!"

The digimon was suddenly engulfed in a purplish circle of code, which split into two different sections. Then it dissipated, leaving the digimon Lobomon, and the young digidestined called Kouji. It was Kouji who smirked triumphantly and held out his hand. "Card please?"

Rika glared at him, then tossed it like a ninja star. To her great annoyance, he caught it as easily as catching a large beach ball. "Fine," she sniffed. "I guess that means I'm out of the game."

"I guess so," Kouji shrugged. He looked at her thoughtfully. "So where is Biyomon now?"

"Like I'm going to tell YOU?"

"You might as well."

"Not a chance, go look for yourself!" Rika huffed, then turned and walked off. She had been looking forward to playing the game, and now suddenly, she was eliminated. What fun was that? "This is stupid," she mumbled.

Kouji followed her, hands in his pockets, then cleared his throat. "Can I ask you something?" he called.

She turned and glared at him. "Sure, but that doesn't mean I'm going to answer," she retorted.

Kouji offered her an amused half-smile. "You're probably pretty disappointed about being out of the game so soon, huh?" He was rewarded with a glare. "That goes without saying, apparently. Well I have a suggestion for you."

Rika paused in her aimless trek, offering a small sigh. To tell the truth, she wasn't just disappointed. She was REALLY disappointed, and she couldn't help feeling slightly depressed about having nothing to do so early in their week trip. She couldn't deny that she was willing to take a suggestion from anybody, including the one who had assassinated her. She just wouldn't admit it, and she'd get back at him later. "What?" she demanded, still trying to sound bored and upset.

"There's a lot of people trying to make assassinations," Kouji said slowly, giving her a hinting look. "And a lot of assassinations are happening too easily, because everyone is going around in twos. You could, if you wanted, go around and be that fourth person that ruins everyone's assassination attempt."

"Wouldn't that be like, a sore loser?" Rika snorted. "Not just that, but it's like cheating."

"No, it's rescuing people, if you look at it differently." Kouji shrugged. "And you could do it to all the people who bug you. Like me, for example."

Rika gave him a calculating stare. "I'll think about it," she declared.

"Fair enough. I'm just trying to give you something interesting you can do, to still be a part of the game. From your position, you could be in control over who wins and who doesn't. It's what I would do if I were assassinated."

Rika offered a faint smile. "Not as bad of an idea as I first made it out to be," she decided. "So okay, I've heard your suggestion. You can go now."

Kouji smirked and walked off, Lobomon following him.

Rika watched him go, scowling after his back was turned. Sure, it was an okay "consultation prize" idea, or something of the sort. But she was still upset. "I'll get back at you," she whispered. "So watch your back, Kouji Minamoto."

(---------------)

**Legendary Warrior's Hideout, 12:20 pm**

Cody stared about him hesitantly, watching everything that took place outside of his crystal sphere prison. Several digimon were talking to each other, or rather, arguing with each other over the most ridiculous of things. It was almost like they were children or something. Shaking his head, Cody decided to put his mind to better use than try to figure out their childish discussions.

He ran his hand along the inside of his spherical prison, feeling something like a low humming vibration of energy. It was fascinating. He knew that everything in the digital world was made up of data, but some kinds of data were more complex, and could contain more energy. This sphere felt like that kind of data. Perhaps if he used his Digivice to scan it and see what it was made of, he would be able to find a way to release himself.

Which brought him to this whole ordeal of being kidnapped. Cody dropped his hand to his pockets, feeling the digivice inside as though it were his only lifeline, and narrowed his eyes at the scene around him. These legendary warriors did not seem to be hostile, nor did they actually care about Cody in the least. Their intentions seemed to be fixated on the idea of causing trouble, rather than endangering anyone. Which could mean that Cody could be here a very long time without anything to do, or they would get bored of containing him and let him walk around.

One of the legendary warriors walked towards him, and he gave the digimon a level, disinterested stare. This particular legendary warrior was the one who seemed to do the most arguing. His name was Grumblemon, or so Cody had heard, and he looked like a thick, squat gnome with a big nose and big fists, who wielded a hammer as though he could destroy worlds with it.

"What your name?" Grumblemon demanded.

Cody narrowed his eyes, and decided not to give an answer. He was still upset about being kidnapped, though it was much more interesting than standing around and waiting for the game to end.

"Well it doesn't matter," Grumblemon decided, snickering. "We have a surprise for you."

Now this was interesting. Cody waited, still playing the silent game, for the warrior of stone to continue.

"As you maybe heard already, we legendary warriors are switching things up a bit," Grumblemon continued, cracking his knuckles with a grin. "We realize you players who are already eliminated are going to be bored. So we give you something exciting to do! Hehehehe!"

Cody held in a sigh. That much he'd already heard. He had also observed that they had no intention of hurting him, and that they meant to make sure Izzy knew what was happening. It seemed they were only trying to shake things up and have some fun. And that couldn't hurt, could it? He finally let out the sigh he'd been holding in and shrugged. "Well then?" he asked. "What is it you had in mind?"

Grumblemon blinked, then smirked. "It's a surprise," he hinted. "And it fun! Don't worry, you wont get bored!" With that, he lifted his hammer over his head, and swung it at the crystal sphere.

Cody sprang out of the way just in time, as the giant hammer smashed a hole right through his prison. For some reason, he felt sad about the destruction, and couldn't help frowning with displeasure.

Grumblemon scowled and rolled his eyes. "No wonder Mercurymon likes you," he mumbled, reaching in and grabbing Cody's arm. He dragged the human hostage out and shoved him toward a hole in the Legendary Warrior's hide out. With agile grace, Cody avoided it, but it would not last. A rough blow to his abdomen later, he found himself careening down a pitch dark, stone slide toward the darkness below…

(----------)

**The Meeting Room, The Inn, 12:30 pm**

Izzy stared at the spot on his screen where he'd last seen Cody's signal, scowling. It hadn't been that long since Cody went missing, and Agunimon had just recently gone out to look for him. But still, Izzy couldn't help wondering if something more was going on here.

"Izzy?"

Izzy turned and found the warrior of fire standing behind him, a fairly serious expression on his face. "What did you find?" Izzy asked, narrowing his eyes slightly. From what he knew of Agunimon, he should probably take whatever he was told with a grain of salt.

"I know two things, actually," Agunimon answered truthfully. Or so it seemed. "The first is that Cody is just fine, and in fact seems to be enjoying himself. The other is that he was hijacked by some friends of mine who want to make it fun and exciting for the players who get eliminated."

"Wait," Tai cut in, raising one eyebrow skeptically and standing up from his chair. "So these friends of yours…they kidnapped Cody because he was eliminated, to give him an adventure or something? Does he know that, or does he think he's been kidnapped?"

Agunimon couldn't help grinning. It was pretty clear that he enjoyed the situation immensely, but it was also clear that he considered it very important to be truthful with Izzy and Tai about what was really going on. He wanted things to go smoothly enough for another reunion to happen in the future. So he was not just clever, he was smart. "He knows," Agunimon chuckled. "He's a smart kid. Even if Mercurymon had everyone pretending to be bad guys, Cody would either figure it out or escape on his own."

"I know that," Izzy stated. "The question is, how do you?"

"You can just tell," Agunimon affirmed. "It's that look he gave me, right before I left. It was like he was saying 'yeah, you can pretend anything you like, but I know exactly what's going on here.' He's fine."

"So lemme get this straight," Tai continued to think things through. "Mercurymon…he's a legendary warrior, isn't he?"

"That's right. The warrior of steel. He's in charge of this little operation, and he's also the one who's going to make sure it doesn't get out of hand. You can trust him."

"What is his plan, exactly?" Izzy demanded seriously. "And why is Cody's signal turned off? That was installed in his digivice for a reason! We're not just doing this monitoring stuff for fun, you know! It's for the safety of everyone here. If something REAL happens, I need to be able to trust that signal!"

Agunimon almost winced. "Unfortunately, I see your point. But I think that's why Mercurymon turned off the signal in the first place."

"Excplain," Izzy ordered.

"I will," a completely new voice answered, a humored tone layered in it. A form appeared out of nowhere, presenting itself as Mercurymon himself. He smirked and gave a small nod to Izzy and Tai. "Forgive my intrusion, and my seemingly thoughtless actions. I am here to put things right."

Agunimon rolled his eyes and crossed his arms, clearly losing some kind of unspoken competition that only he and Mercurymon seemed to have any idea of. But he kept silent and waited.

"Fine then," Izzy sighed. "Why did you kidnap Cody, really? What are your plans with the digidestined you kidnap? And why did you turn off his signal? It's imperative that it remain on at all times so we can keep monitoring."

"I understand," Mercurymon patronized. He paused. "I turned it off to get your attention. If I had simply taken Cody and left, all you would notice is his signal blinking from one location to another…a location that happens to be fairly nearby. And you would have thought nothing of it, assuming that Cody went off with some digimon. You would not realize that something was happening with him right away. So I turned off the signal, alerting you to his absence."

"It worked," Izzy frowned. "It caused a panic in here!"

Tai made a sheepish grin, coughed, and tried to pretend like it was nothing.

Mercurymon smirked, and continued. "That brings me to my reasons for this kidnapping. I find myself feeling rather jealous of my friends and their partners, and the rest of us legendary warriors discovered that we too, wanted some interaction with humans. It is a very incredible thing for your presence to be here while our world is at peace. And since we were not invited to play the game, we decided to participate in our own way.

"The players who are eliminated during the game find themselves with nothing to do. So they either join other players, or wander around not doing anything. This is rather boring, and it discourages people from actually playing the game to the best of their ability. However, what if players start to go missing? Just a few…one a day perhaps, and just the ones who have been eliminated. Your players are going to become much more serious about playing. They will begin to realize that if they get eliminated, they might go missing too. And it will also be a distraction. Your game becomes more interesting, and the ones who are bored have something to do."

"What if they start to panic?" Tai cut in. "TK was ready to storm out and go looking for Cody, regardless of the game! How are we going to assure people that everything is fine, if we don't even know where they are or what's happening with them?"

"Another reason I'm here," Mercuyrmon stated dully. "You and Izzy are the administrators. If you simply say that they were picked at random to be kidnapped, but that it is all part of the game, they will be less worried. You will still know where they are because their signals will be on. But you can use it as a tool for getting people to stop mulling about and start assassinating."

"I guess that's a good idea," Tai mumbled, thinking it over.

"What we will do with these few kidnapped digidestined and/or digimon is pretty simple really. We will give them things to do throughout the digital world…that is, throughout places nearby. For example, there is a large underground maze that is pretty famous. I estimate Cody is probably trying to find his way out of it right now. And of course, other small activities for them to do. We will try to keep them under the impression that they are kidnapped, as part of the game, but we also promise that if they start panicking, we will return them here unharmed right away." Mercurymon finished speaking, and took a deep breath.

Izzy drummed his fingers on the table, thoughtful. He couldn't really find anything wrong with the whole idea, but it still bothered him that he wasn't asked first. He decided to mention it. "Why didn't you just ask us first?" he accused.

Mercurymon shrugged. "We didn't think of it right away."

"It gives the people who are doing nothing something to do," Tai whispered in Izzy's ear. "Maybe it isn't so bad after all. These are the Legendary Warriors after all. If anyone should do this, it should be them."

Izzy sighed, spreading his hands apart. "Fine, but you can't be mean! Don't take anyone who gets scared, and don't freak anyone out! If they don't want to do it, bring them back, okay?"

"You have my word," Mercurymon bowed. "And as you can see, the signal has now returned."

Izzy glanced at the screen, then blinked. Sure enough, Cody's red light indicated that he was underground, beneath the Legendary Tower, the supposed hideout for the legendary warriors. He glanced up to say something, then realized Mercurymon was gone.

"Well?" Agunimon sighed. "Told ya."

Izzy tapped his fingers together thoughtfully. "So I see," he mumbled. And for now, he just stared at the screen of his laptop and waited. Only time would tell if this was a good idea or a bad one.

(------------)

…..and now I'll leave you hanging till next time.

_**PLEASE read this:**_. The Review Contest is going to be happening EVERY CHAPTER, until I say it isn't. That means, you have to write the review that I like best, and you get to win a prize. I'm sure you've figured out the prize by now, right? You get to choose a character and a phrase, and I will put them in the story. _That means that it is your RESPONSIBILITY to review, so that you can help this story progress._

But if you would like to know some **good tips on how to win this review contest**, here they are:

First, you have to understand that you guys help to decide who wins this story just by telling me which CHARACTERS you want to see more of. So if you want to see more of a character, please don't hesitate to tell me. Putting down the names of the characters you'd like to see more of is nice. Also, if you think that I have written a certain character OOC, then you should TELL ME! That can score you big points on this contest. I need to know your opinion. Being HONEST about what you think, and about how you think it could IMPROVE. Another thing I love is randomness and silliness, and just being YOURSELF. I love reviews that talk about the chapter, to indicate that you have actually read it. **YOUR REVIEWS DO NOT HAVE TO BE LONG IF YOU DON'T WANT TO MAKE THEM LONG!** (Though I like long ones!)

NOW…just because I am saying all this DOES NOT mean that you have to do all that! That would be like me telling you how to write YOUR review. And that's just silly. You can put whatever you want, even tell me it sucks if you feel like it. I just want to hear from you. But the best way to win is by using the tips up above….and also, most of those tips will help you to be a valuable reviewer to other authors besides myself. Writing good reviews is a practice everyone should learn.

So don't be afraid of being critical, **or telling me which romance you think should be featured**, or whether you think it should really be Izzy's Mom or just a fake, **or what character you hope to see assassinated next and what not**. It's not going to happen if I don't know you want it to! 

So…..until next time……REVIEW!

**--Rika195**


End file.
